


Replacement, Ram-san

by Maudlim



Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, AU Timeline, Anbu Haruno Sakura, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Fully written, Sakura is the same age as Kakashi, Updated weekly, and kakashi figuring things out, lots of team bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 35,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maudlim/pseuds/Maudlim
Summary: Sakura left to train with Tsunade, but returns to Konoha wanting for a team to protect and call her own. When she enters anbu to an elite squad, brash and full of life, she meets a young, imperfect and at times, abrasive Kakashi Hatake.What makes one medic return and another leave?— Kakasaku AU same age timeline, updated Sundays.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi
Comments: 133
Kudos: 330
Collections: Konoha Collection





	1. Enter Sakura Haruno

**Author's Note:**

> Excited to be sharing my first fanfic with you. This story is fully written and saved on my computer, and will be released in chapters weekly. If you're an enthusiastic beta'er, I'd love to get your eyes on it.
> 
> Please leave me your thoughts in reviews, promise I'll read it.
> 
> Overview of the AU (skip if you want to get it through the story):
> 
> Sakura is 23 at the start of the story, Kakashi is 26.
> 
> Sakura still leaves with Tsunade, she has no history with team seven.
> 
> Sakura has a younger brother.
> 
> Rin is alive, Obito and Minato are dead.
> 
> Kakashi is an anbu captain.
> 
> Hijinks ensue.

She bent over the dimly lit desk. The documents piled up to past her shoulders, a few scattered directly in front of her. One hand traced the text as she read to herself under her breath, the other hand tugged with vigor through her hair, streaking it with traces of blue ink. Deep in focus, she chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes darted from line to line.

"Sakura Haruno." A cup of takeaway coffee was dropped down carelessly on a pile. Sakura's attention snapped up, and followed the coffee to a hand, arm, a face, and a shock of silver hair.

She leaned back in her chair, recognizing the man. "Hello, Hatake-san."

"We've never met," He stated blandly, standing over her.

"No," Sakura replied slowly. "We haven't."

"What are you up to?"

She thought it must have been relatively clear what she was doing. He found her in the records room. People came here for only two reasons, reading and writing reports. "I'm looking up a medical phenomenon my team encountered on our last mission."

He stared.

She waved at the piles, including the one he was resting his coffee on. "Seems like something new, I haven't found anything that's matched yet." The man seemed unimpressed. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he was truly listening.

"Who's the captain of the team? Where was the mission?"

Another tick of annoyance. Sakura was confident her work was meticulous but still didn't welcome inquisitions like this. She calmly stood so she could speak to the man on more even footing. "I'm the captain. Water."

He made a noise at her answer, no longer looking at her as he absently picked up file after file, throwing them wayward once done. Her stacks of documents, once meticulous, were becoming precarious.

"Hatake-san—" She said, preparing to ask him to leave. The conversation was unredeeming to begin with, but now crossed into disruptive.

"Haruno-san. My anbu team has been without a medic for a year now. Tsunade was going to ground me if I kept going. She recommended you for the position."

Sakura's mouth clipped shut.

He turned to face her, dark eyes, one red, trained on her in scrutiny. Nothing about his tone felt like an invitation. If anything, it sounded more like an indifferent statement about the weather or the rotation of the earth.

He swiped his coffee off her table and within a few steps was halfway out the door. Over his shoulder, the silver haired man called, "If you're interested, training ground fifteen. Saturday at one."

* * *

"Kyuta! I'm going," Sakura shouted into the house as she pulled the door shut and jingled her keys. She double checked her person for everything she needed. The mid-day sun blazed unforgivingly above, already feeling hot on the back of her neck.

"Okaaay," a long call from inside the house stretched into a yawn. Sakura turned to leave but quirked her brow in irritation at what came next, "Don't get disowned from your new team, nee-chan."

Sakura's anger mixed with the nervousness in her stomach, sloshing around as she started, "Why you!"

Breaking a glance at the clock, it told her she needed to hurry unless she wanted to be late to their first meeting. She leapt off the third floor railing and moved with speed across the neighboring rooftops.

Sakura mulled over what she knew about the prospective team as she ran. Sakura knew most of them in some capacity, especially from her time working in the hospital.

Kakashi Hatake. A few years older than her in the academy, and had quickly moved into anbu. Promoted three years prior in a fanfare that struck the village. The anbu captain was a rare sight in any kind of medical establishment, and notorious for playing hooky when it came to his annual exams. Sakura knew little about him personally and their first meeting left her feeling cautious about the next.

She knew there was Tenzo, an affable man with a special wood-release affinity. Tenzo had been the same year as Kakashi at the academy, from what Sakura could remember from his medical charts about his age. Sakura found Tenzo pleasant in conversation, and he seemed diligent about keeping up his health—a commendable quality to a medic.

Then, Ko Hyuuga. Like Yugao, also a peripheral member when needed. The Hyuuga clan had private medics and Sakura only saw him in passing at events, but she had always liked how he carried himself. Ko was a rotational member, to be tapped in depending on the mission.

And of course, one of the shining stars of Sakura's world, Yugao. They had been fast friends since the Academy, then placed on a rare double-female genin team together. Yugao was more combative, in many ways, and had reached anbu a few years ago. To Sakura's worry, Yugao had quickly split out and gotten herself assigned to multiple teams, like Ko. Sakura knew that was her preference—Yugao didn't like being tied down.

Forming deep bonds had been what Sakura loved best about her own genin team, before she left with Tsunade those years ago. But as the opportunity to join this anbu team as a permanent member came up, Sakura found herself torn if she actually wanted to try out. To come was to indicate interest, yet something about the first encounter with this team's captain had already made her feel unwelcome. Sakura hadn't even gotten a chance to confer with Tsunade, although she had a feeling she knew what her shishou, ambitious and strict, would have said about the chance for promotion.

Sakura landed at training ground fifteen. She readjusted the tightness of her gloves, and smoothed down her skirt. It looked like she was the first one there, just slightly past the hour. She was surprised to see nobody around, not even the captain and Tenzo. When it was several minutes past the meeting time, she began to wonder if she'd remembered the training ground number wrong.

As Sakura was returning from scouting the adjacent grounds fourteen and sixteen, she felt Tenzo's signature enter the vicinity.

"Hey," Tenzo greeted, puffing from exertion. He rested a hand on his knee. "Sorry, I should have gotten here earlier. I meant to tell you—rule one of working with Kakashi is that he's always at least fifteen late."

Sakura didn't say anything, but Tenzo read her expression.

"I know, I've been trying to get him to change since we started working together." He rubbed at the back of his head with a grimace, "I even reminded him that today's your first day."

Sakura laughed lightly. "What's there to do on a Saturday at mid-afternoon anyways?"

Tenzo gave her a look, a little bit of a knowing smile. "Well, plenty of things. Especially for that dog—"

Sakura was going to pursue what Tenzo had meant by _dog_ when a smooth voice rang out into the open field.

"Who's a dog?"

Kakashi strolled into view. His half lidded eye lazily surveyed the two of them, a hint of a challenge there for Tenzo, who tossed his hands up innocently. Kakashi was casually dressed, in a standard-issue black long sleeve sans vest. His hair was wild, twisting slightly in the breeze.

He glanced with half a modicum of interest at Sakura.

"Captain," Sakura greeted evenly. Internally, she cringed at having been caught gossiping about her potential commander.

"I've tolerated much disrespect from Tenzo, but I won't have it from our prospective medic too," Kakashi warned in a low tone.

Sakura shook her hands quickly, eager to ameliorate the rising tension.

"Hey!" Yugao's bright voice rang out in the clearing. "You're not late, Hatake. What gives? Now I look bad."

She skidded to a stop in front of Sakura, clasping her on the shoulder. Sakura reached up to squeeze her hand in greeting. The ruse was up as Tenzo started chuckling too and Kakashi sighed low and mussed his hair.

"You all make me look bad," he fixed Yugao and Tenzo evenly, earning him some snorts as they fell into a neat line.

Kakashi cleared his throat. With one hand, he hit his fist against a wooden training pole with speed. "Alright slackers, here's the deal."

"Sakura Haruno," he finally looked straight at her. "Team Ro is the most established team in anbu. You have tenuous membership until you prove yourself worthy of the high honors. Usually for a combat member, we'd do a sparring test. Seeing as you're not, I have something else in mind."

Kakashi reached into his pocket and tossed a light item at Sakura. She caught it in cupped palms. It was a tiny brass bell, with a string.

"On this team," Kakashi mused, "Medics need to operate with discretion, and to be strong supports when needed."

A sound of irritation came from Yugao, but Kakashi ignored her.

His tone pitched to be serious and low. He addressed the medic directly. "Haruno, protect that bell with your life. We have thirty minutes to get it from you. If you still have it by the end, we'll keep you."

Sakura tilted her head in question but slowly shifted the bell to inside the chest pocket of her jounin vest.

"I'm sorry," Yugao apologized with a huff to Sakura under her breath, "Kakashi is…"

_"Go!"_

Tenzo and Kakashi launched into action. Kakashi went for the direct approach and hurtled at her with speed. As Sakura instinctively ducked to the side, she saw Tenzo making the first seals for a wood jutsu. She instantly leapt into the nearby tree cover and cupped a hand over the bell before moving to create a clone, which she sent in an opposite direction.

Kakashi swiftly followed and wasn't distracted by the clone. He leapt up at her from ground level but Sakura escaped the branch that she was on and darted up to higher ground. She felt her clone get dismissed, it might have been Yugao who got it, and recognized that the trees were moving with intention in her direction. Bad news.

Kakashi was gaining speed. Trailing one second behind meant he could optimize for the fastest route after observing her intended path. Plus, he was just naturally faster. Like a predator, he'd pulled a kunai out from his pocket and had it at the ready. Sakura eyed it for only a split second before being forced to fall to the side, letting go of the branch altogether in order to duck it.

A whip-sharp tendril wrapped around her ankle as she fell. _Fuck_ , Sakura cursed. With an intentionally released senbon, she splintered the thin vine and released herself, but the distance she'd fallen meant she had to return to the ground. As she twisted to land on her feet, a large scroll was unrolled below her.

Sakura had enough combat experience with Yugao to recognize the technique sucking her towards the face of the scroll. Reacting to the combination of nin and genjutsu, Sakura threw a burst of chakra to her hands and repelled the incoming scroll with force, breaking the seal Yugao had on it. The characters on the surface of the scroll moved, Sakura spotted Yugao with a grin from behind a tree, and she couldn't help but sigh with exasperation as the effect reversed and an explosive energy issued out of the scroll instead.

Tons of murky water burst violently from the scroll, roiling like some kind of diseased ocean that smelled terrible.

"Fuck, Yugao!" Sakura shouted in annoyance at her friend as she twisted backwards to avoid the flood. The woman's bright laughs punctuated above the rush of the water as Sakura anchored herself to a nearby trunk. Everyone around gagged at the terrible smell.

Sakura checked the bell. Not five minutes had passed but she didn't have the stamina to stay on the defensive against all three of them. Kakashi was speeding at her from the side again, fist at the ready.

Barely dodging her face to the side to avoid a nose-shattering hit, Sakura made up her mind. His defense was left open with that latest lurch. Sakura grounded her feet and swung her own shoulder back. Shooting chakra to her balled fist, she carried through with a fierce uppercut to the captain's abdomen.

The body she connected with puffed into air. From behind her, she felt a stir of motion. Sakura reared around and brought her leg up as she moved for a wide and sweeping kick. Kakashi grabbed her ankle and she twisted her body with the momentum to heavily catch his face with her other foot. He skidded a few feet, with one hand clutched to the affected cheek.

She had only a split second to meet his eyes before Yugao launched at her with a katana, but Sakura saw something like mirth in his expression.

* * *

The battle ended as abruptly as it started. Sakura was thrown onto her back, almost in the dead center of the clearing. Firm roots had shot from the ground and wrapped around her legs, up to her thighs, tugging Sakura feet first in one direction. She dug her fingers into the dirt in a futile attempt to fight it, but had to abandon that quickly as a flash of silver came straight at her from above, blocking out the sun.

Sakura pulled in her arms to defend, but Kakashi easily snaked past her limbs. He landed with grace on all fours and sat heavily on her hips. One sharp elbow slammed down her left shoulder. The flat of a kunai was hovered at her throat.

Sakura summoned chakra to her free hand. A split second and the kunai would find register with her skin, but until then she still had a chance to—Yugao stepped on her hand.

Sakura let out a strangled cry, half angry and half frustrated. Her friend grinned with exhaustion from above.

Kakashi, keeping unbroken eye contact, lifted one hand and slowly reached into her chest pocket for the coveted bell. As he pulled it out, Sakura let her body release from the tension of the fight and she sunk into the ground with a low breath.

She turned her head to the side away from Yugao and Kakashi. Frustration stung at her eyes. The foot eased off of her free hand and Sakura pressed herself up. For a moment, there was only the sound of heavy breathing and the soft tinkling of the retrieved bell.

"I guess," she started, not wanting to hear somebody else say it first. "This means I don't stay."

Kakashi eased off of her, thankfully without her having to ask him. Sakura felt Yugao's hands hook around her elbow and pull her up to standing. Still, she couldn't meet their eyes. From her periphery, Tenzo also emerged from the tree line.

Sakura smoothed down her skirt and took in a deep, ragged breath. Her breath was still uneven from the heavy work they'd just done. Reigning in her disappointed expression, she made an even line with her mouth and met Kakashi's eyes. She dipped into a low bow.

"Captain, thank you for letting me try out."

He shrugged. "Fair's fair."

"Indeed," Sakura bit out. "I'll leave you to training now—"

Kakashi cocked his head and held out his hand in pause. The bell was pinched between his thumb and forefinger.

"Tenzo!" He shouted to the man without breaking her gaze. There was something strange in his expression. A little bit of humor. Was he going to make fun of her now? _This whole tryout had been unorthodox—trying out for a position she hadn't wanted and that didn't want her._

"Yeah, cap?"

"What was the time on that?"

Sakura swore she heard a laugh. "That was fifty five minutes, sir."

Yugao clapped her on the back, which sent Sakura careening forward on her wobbly knees. As she recovered her balance, Sakura found Kakashi regarding her.

"You gave us a run for our money, Haruno."

Tenzo whistled from the side as he strolled to meet them.

Sakura felt so overwhelmed that she reached for Yugao. She let out a massive breath and let her head fall backwards, before snapping to and eyeing them with resent, starting with her friend.

"Why did nobody stop at thirty minutes?" She demanded, lacking the energy to be genuinely mad.

"Well," Yugao started.

"We tried, but—" Tenzo shrugged.

"You managed to land a pretty punch to my side right around time," Kakashi intoned, nursing his ribs. Sakura remembered the satisfaction of that particular hit. "So I figured we might as well keep going and see what you had." His lips showed just the smallest hint of a tick. "Plus it let me return the favor."

Sakura gave a scowl but couldn't hold it for long before she broke out into a laugh. A sharp pain jumped from when Kakashi had round housed her side.

"Aha ow," she cried and dropped unceremoniously on the ground, already bringing chakra to the bruise forming under her vest. Sakura looked scornfully up at the three of them, although she couldn't help but keep her grin.

" _So_ ," Yugao started slowly, "Can you heal us?"

Sakura licked her lips. "Well, that depends. Am I on the team?"

Tenzo bellowed a laugh.

* * *

They insisted to the men that they clean up after the exhaustive spar. Kakashi looked happy to break into a sake bar, but he acquiesced given that Sakura didn't have enough chakra to heal everything on everyone. With their bruises and bumps, and Yugao's horrible murk water release, they looked and smelled like a sorry bunch of brawlers that surely would be turned away from any respectable establishment.

Later that evening when Sakura's hair was freshly showered and she had changed into a simple sleeveless shell and spandex shorts, she found Kakashi in front of the agreed-upon bar, wearing something close, if not identical, to what he had on earlier. He gave her a perfunctory greeting.

Yugao came after in a little black number, and Tenzo waved at them from down the street, with his arms around a man with neatly shorn black hair and Hyuuga eyes.

"This is Ko," Tenzo shouted from some distance.

Sakura recognized him and sent a wave. "Nice to meet you."

The man inclined his head and gave a small smile.

"Shall we?" Yugao ushered them into the sake bar. As it was still early evening, they sat near one of the windows and had much of the place to themselves. Orange sunset light filtered in through the window. Yugao settled into one corner of the booth and Sakura followed her friend. Tenzo next to Sakura, and Kakashi and Ko on the other side.

Kakashi and Tenzo set upon ordering drinks with parched desperation.

"I'm sorry I missed your challenge this morning, Sakura-san." Ko told her.

Sakura waved his apology off, "I'm not sure I would have passed with one more against me."

Kakashi shrugged, "I would have lowered the time." His eyes stayed fixed on the menu but he looked smug, pleased with his own generosity.

Sakura bit back an audible chuckle but couldn't help but tease amicably, "But you would have still let me exhaust myself."

Kakashi didn't say anything more, but Tenzo chimed in, "Maybe we should have let Ko come. _I'm_ exhausted after that hour with Sakura-san."

"I told you guys," Yugao sulked, before turning to Sakura. "I told them. But Kakashi insisted on his fucking test."

"Yugao," he gave her a grin. "Doesn't the test give you confidence that Haruno can hold off any three shinobi of our level, for at least _fifty five_ minutes?"

Yugao growled in frustration at Kakashi, who balefully smiled back. "I already knew she could."

"I think the best part was when you went on the offensive," Tenzo offered.

Sakura dipped her head in a smile.

"Agreed. Against orders but it gave me a good sense of your abilities." Kakashi said over his sake. He took a drink and continued. " _Definitely_ against orders."

"I agree," Sakura began slowly and thoughtfully. Since he first described the test and his expectations for a medic, Sakura had wanted to talk to him about that. She was through and through not a support role and wanted it to be known as much. Still, Sakura wasn't sure how serious Kakashi was being, if at all, and she didn't want to risk offending her new captain on their first day.

She held out her cup and Kakashi poured for her. "But Tsunade is also a fighting medic. If it doesn't impede my ability to heal our team, then I'd like to keep my current style."

They met eyes over the table. Kakashi's gray eye looked even, but she could also see something turning underneath. He was mulling over her request.

"You trained under Tsunade-sama, right?" Ko asked. "I thought I'd heard about a young medic returning with the Sannin."

"Mm, I did. We spent two years on the road, and then we came back a year ago. I spent some time working in the hospital as a medic, then was leading a jounin team when Hatake-san found me."

"Big mistake, should have run." Yugao barked with a laugh as she stole the bottle. "Was this morning bad enough to make you think about jumping ship?"

"Yugao, have I ever told you I'm glad you're not on the regular rotation?" A lazy drawl.

"Thanks, Hatake."

* * *

They split ways after the sake bar. Tenzo looked like he was ready to retire, and Kakashi had goaded Ko into one more drink at a much skeazier spot that Sakura knew to be on the outskirts of town.

_"First you miss morning training, now you won't even look at me? Ko-kun, you'd think you're avoiding me."_

Yugao quickly sequestered Sakura.

"Maniac," Yugao said with a flippant roll of her eyes as Sakura glanced back over their shoulders to see Kakashi shoving a dignified but worn-down Ko down the street.

"This team is," Sakura picked her words choicely, "interesting."

"No kidding. I'm surprised you agreed. I thought you liked your jounin team?"

They strolled leisurely through the streets with linked arms. Sakura noted with mirth the number of glances, some discrete and others obvious, that Yugao was receiving for her figure.

"I do. They were good. But you know," she said lightly.

"Yeah, their old captain passed away. You were a—"

"Replacement," they finished together.

A comfortable quiet came over, each thinking about the concept. Sakura was the one to pick the conversation back up again as they came to a stop in front of a small jewelry storefront, eyes flitting through the products.

"Plus, this is a promotion for me. It'll be a good challenge. And I like the team." Sakura paused to look at something on tiptoe. "Tenzo and Ko, they seem kind. The captain is... talented."

Yugao snorted.

"I mean it's not how I would do things," Sakura said with intention.

"If anything it's the opposite."

"Maybe," she gave in. Sakura tightened her grasp on Yugao's arm and pulled her in to press their cheeks together for a hug, "But then at least I have you, Yu-chan!" Summer sweat made their faces adhere together. Yugao made a face.

They burst into raucous laughter and tore away from the expensive display.

"Sakura, you know our last medic left over a year ago?"

"I've heard."

"Rin Nohara. She was good, but she left to go train under some poisons master in Suna."

Sakura waited for Yugao to continue as they kept strolling, now passing the academy, where kids were still tumbling and play fighting on the grounds in the hot night. Her fingers pressed comfortingly against Yugao's warm arms.

"Kakashi seemed really affected when she left. It was pretty clear he didn't want her to go."

"How could you tell?"

"We had this one last mission. It was awful," Yugao shuddered, "Kakashi was a huge asshole the whole time, to everyone, and would barely look at her."

Sakura intoned empathetically, "There must have been strong feelings, they've been on the same team since they were kids." Theirs was a prominent genin team that stayed together as much as possible, although had lost members through the years. For them to both make it to anbu was impressive, to stay together on Team Ro was even more impressive.

"Yeah, exactly. And then he didn't want to replace her. So I had to get my ragged ass dragged around the five hidden nations and beyond without a medic."

They stopped at Sakura's doorstep. Sakura could see the lights on inside, _hopefully Kyuta was studying and not entertaining his friends._

"My point in telling you this is to say," Yugao gave her a look and took her shoulders in her hands, "I'm glad you're with the team. I want you to feel welcome."

Sakura covered Yugao's hands with hers and returned the look with a smile, "I feel welcomed so far. I'm sure the captain will warm up. Thank you, Yu-chan."

Yugao nodded in absolution, and pecked her quickly on the cheek. Turning to leave, she threw back, "Tell Kyuta-kun I said hello!"

"I won't," Sakura shot back, watching her friend sway with sultry intent without even knowing it. "He'd hyperventilate."

"Ja ne!"

* * *

A sharp knock on his door woke him up.

"Captain." A respectful voice called from outside. The copy nin kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut, hoping that whoever was outside the door would leave. Knowing the voice though, he had doubts that this would work.

"Kakashi."

"Ko," he groaned from bed. "Listen, about last night—"

A snort. "Captain, you're about to be late. You told Haruno-san we'd find her a mask today."

Kakashi sat up. "Shit."

He grabbed his shirt from beside him and pulled it on. From his bed in the corner of the studio, Kakashi stood up and tripped over some icha icha books stacked nearby. He fell over to the kitchen sink, and turned on the faucet, letting the water run over his hand. With a wet hand, he smoothed down his hair before dipping his head for a drink. Kakashi checked his reflection in the glass of the kitchen cabinets.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi finally pulled the door open to see Ko, standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the railing. Definitely unimpressed. Kakashi gave him a grin.

"Ko-kun. Am I pleased to see you."

"Save it," the Hyuuga intoned. He looked at his watch. "If we run, we'll make it to headquarters before Haruno-san does."

Kakashi blanched a little as he pulled up his mask. "I don't know if I can _do_ running, right now."

Ko sighed.

* * *

Kakashi was due to help her find a mask today. Ko had also volunteered when the topic came up at the bar, and Sakura was grateful for it. She still wasn't sure what to make of their captain, and while she felt certain that she could win him over with time, their first icy interaction left an impression on her.

_He seemed kind enough when the rest of the team was around,_ Sakura reminded herself, stepping into the imposing building. A few anbu teams roved around the headquarters, some of them recognizing Sakura from exams or hospital visits. She was quietly chatting with another team when she spotted Ko from the corner of her eye, and behind him, Kakashi.

"Haruno-san," Ko greeted.

Kakashi nodded to her, and acknowledged the team she was talking to. "Hey."

Sakura said goodbye and made her way over with a smile.

Ko looked fresh. His short cropped hair was damp, and he was dressed in neatly pressed linens with the Hyuuga seal.

Kakashi looked a little rough around the corners. To date, Sakura had been unable to tell if his hair naturally looked like that, or he was always just… unkempt. He might have been wearing the same shirt from last night. Sakura didn't care to get close enough to confirm it by smell.

"Alright," Kakashi cleared his throat. He entered a small room off to the side of the hall. Ko held the door open for Sakura to enter first.

Kakashi motioned for them to wait and he set about rifling through the filing cabinets in the room. Finally, he found the drawer he was looking for, and tugged it out of the cabinet altogether. Depositing it unceremoniously on the table in the middle of the room, he gestured.

"Have at it, Haruno. The world is your oyster."

She quirked a brow at him. Approaching the drawer, she murmured with a smile, "I doubt I'd find any pearls in there."

Sakura peered in and started pulling out the masks inside. One by one, delicate porcelain masks were painted and carved into animal features. The color of the paint on these was vibrant, unlike some of the ones worn by the rest of her team. It was clear that these were new.

Ko and Kakashi watched her silently as she considered each one, turning it around in her fingers.

_A lion… A snake…_ she shook her head imperceptibly, not identifying with any of them. From her experience, Sakura knew that most anbu opted for something fierce and carnivorous. It was something about the testosterone of the men, but Sakura also figured it was a protective mechanism. Who wanted to fuck with a lion?

She kept looking. _A hyena, even an octopus, and… a ram._

Sakura looked at the last one in her hand with intention. It looked gentle, almost sweet. Neutral and mature. The horns of the ram were tightly coiled around the side of the mask and swept further back—functional. It would protect the sides of her head. The eyes of the ram were large and sweeping.

Holding on to it, Sakura looked up to consult her teammates.

"That one, Haruno-san?"

She nodded, "I think so."

Kakashi stared at the mask without saying anything.

"What was your last medic's mask?" Sakura asked as she put the others back in the drawer.

Kakashi had started to leave, apparently he'd completed this obligation. He stopped in the doorway at her question. It felt like the first time he'd approached her.

"A doe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Leave me your thoughts and I promise I'll read it. I'm here to improve my writing and share this story with you.
> 
> I've always loved Kakashi as a character and wondered how he turned out the way he did, when so many others with just as much tragedy broke and became cruel. While he shows up in the canon as someone who is composed and talented, albeit tardy and cool at times, he really seems to have it all together.
> 
> I'd like to think that before Rin died, he allowed himself to have a bit of a breather. What was Kakashi like when he was younger, greener around the edges, and had more to prove? What did he believe in, and how did he treat his friends? Invariably, I think such a Kakashi is one that's easier to read, more raw, and definitely more imperfect.
> 
> See you on next week's chapter!
> 
> \- Maudlim
> 
> (And a disclaimer, I definitely don't own any of these characters or this world.)


	2. The Two Theories

Their first mission as a team was to Ame.

The team had been ground-bound while Sakura trained with them, learning their individual strengths, weaknesses and styles. Sakura could tell over the course of the few weeks that Kakashi was quickly becoming restless, and irritable at that.

So far, she'd had little luck with cracking her captain. He seemed determined to avoid all individual interactions with her, and Sakura could hardly get a question in before he would evaporate away, sometimes without saying anything close to a goodbye.

Sakura wasn't one to force her company on someone who didn't want it. She was happy to stick to Yugao, who occasionally came by, never without a biting remark for Kakashi, and Tenzo, who had quickly warmed to her and impressed her with his control of chakra for wood release. Ko was a rare presence, though Sakura had learned he'd be joining them on their first mission instead of Yugao.

Sakura's read on the team was that they were strong, and closely-knit. It was exactly what she'd been looking for, after her temporary stint on the jounin team. Even from anbu, she'd kept in touch with the jounin she led, but she knew that they were hurting for their old captain, not Sakura. She knew it took time to work into a replacement or change, and couldn't help but laugh to herself at the irony of having gone from one such situation to immediately another.

When Sakura finally got around to catching Tsunade to talk about it, her shishou said everything she'd expected to hear. That is, nothing that was all too reassuring. Sakura agreed with all of her points— _it was a promotion_ , yes. _Anbu was more challenging, better for growing her skills,_ yes. _Team Ro was one of the top teams in anbu, with an excellent track record,_ it was all true.

Sakura could only sigh.

She knew her mentor saw it as a way to both promote her and keep her safe, and for that she couldn't blame the older woman. Still, Sakura had warned her. If Kakashi never accepted her, maybe a different anbu team would be more appropriate.

Tsunade promised to reevaluate if Sakura still felt this way after a few weeks.

Sakura tightened the straps on her tight, constricting vest, and ran a hand over the cool porcelain of her new mask. The inside of the mask fogged up in the summer heat.

"Sakura-san," a voice called from behind.

Sakura turned with a smile and greeted him. Ko had just moved on to a first-name basis with her, which she was glad for. Sakura stepped back to be in line with him, just as Tenzo strolled up.

He waved a hand, "How does that new vest feel?"

Sakura made a noise, "Horrible in this heat." She could see Tenzo's eyes crinkle.

Late and last was Kakashi. He landed quietly, cloak billowing as he clutched the mission scroll in his hand. He had a tanto strapped to his back, and dog mask in place.

"Alright," he drawled. "First mission. We're headed to Ame. Reconnoissance. Intel tells us that there's a group gathering support in the area, which is still destabilized from the last great war. Elder's orders to find out their motive and local sentiment."

He looked from person to person before finally noting, "No engaging unless necessary."

They nodded and took off.

* * *

The pacing was nothing short of breakneck, the team hurtling through the trees and on track to making the normally week-long journey in only three days.

Sakura's heart was racing. Her jounin team had been talented but not _insane_. She'd also been along on anbu loaner missions in the past, but did all of them do it like this?

At the end of the second night, she was so thoroughly spent that she couldn't help a clumsy dismount from the tree, once Kakashi called for the night's rest. At various points throughout their travel, she'd noticed Kakashi training his sharingan on her, a red blur at the corner of her vision that she didn't return. Sakura didn't know what he would have to say, and also thought it more polite to let him stalk in private. She had a hunch he'd been evaluating her chakra levels and general fatigue.

As she landed on the ground with an audible rustle, she got the sense she was being watched again.

Ko and Tenzo dropped down nearby, silent. A few hundred yards through the tree line, there was an inn with smoke streaming out of a single chimney.

Kakashi held up a hand. "We're close enough that we should change now."

The team nodded and started pulling off their identifying insignia. Sakura tugged her mask off, then her hitai-ate. She couldn't help but take a deep inhale of the fresh forest air. Putting the items into her pack, she pulled out a thin yukata and stepped a few yards away.

She pulled off her dense vest, which dropped onto the forest floor with a heavy sound, and tugged her thin black undershirt up and over her head. She had confidence her colleagues were giving her privacy.

Slipping the yukata on quickly, she pulled on a quick henge and returned to the group with her light brown hair. She kept her eyes unchanged.

Around her, the men had changed into similar casual wear. Ko opted also for a yukata, while Kakashi and Tenzo wore lounge shirts and casual slacks. Kakashi had worked his sharingan to match his other eye. She thought he looked a little bit friendlier without the red glare.

"Two rooms, an inn of that size won't easily have rooms for four," Kakashi said. "Ko, you're with Haruno."

Ko nodded.

They headed off towards the inn. Inside, the single dining room and check-in was hot from the heat of the attached kitchen. Kakashi and Ko asked for the rooms while Sakura and Tenzo idled behind.

Ko came up to her with a small smile, "We're in room 3."

"Hai," Sakura followed him up the stairs. Pausing in front of their doors, she looked back at Tenzo. Kakashi had already disappeared inside the other room.

"Dinner later?" she asked.

"In an hour?"

Sakura nodded and headed inside. The room was pleasantly decorated, the slightest smell of being lived in. There was a large double futon in the middle of the room, and a small table for dining off to the side.

She dropped her henge as she let her pack down.

"Shower, Ko-san?"

"You go first," he encouraged.

* * *

Sakura felt amazing after being freshly showered. She appreciatively ran her hand through her damp pink hair and breathed in the scent of the inn hotel, which was good enough. She sat at the small table waiting for Ko and braided her hair in a single braid.

When he came out of the shower, he gave her a quick smile. "Did you find the shower to be relaxing, Sakura-san?"

"It was great," she smiled back as she stretched her arms up past her head. Her joints cracked at the motion. "These couple days have been pretty intense."

Ko nodded as he tucked away some of his dirty laundry. "Kakashi seems like he's in a rush."

He paused before adding quietly, "That man has his moods."

Sakura quirked her head for a second, before laughing lightly. Seems like even the even-headed Ko was not immune to jabbing at their captain.

"How long have you been in anbu, Ko-san?"

"Two years, since Kakashi became captain," he replied. "He brought me onto the team once he was promoted, we knew each other from being jounin."

Sakura took in this information. She said the next part slowly and carefully. "You must be familiar with each other."

He stood up from his pack and took in her gaze, a slight smile on this face. "I know him as a teammate and as a captain."

Ko went to the door and Sakura got up to follow him back out to the dining area. The small room had only three tables, and Kakashi and Tenzo were already seated at one of them, nursing a small canteen of tea.

They waved in greeting as Sakura and Ko sat down. Sakura busied herself with studying the menu while the men got to talking about construction, apparently their cover story for why they were in Ame.

The food came out quickly. Where on the previous nights, they had talked about personal matters while gathered around the campsites, their distance to Ame and the close walls of the inn made the environment feel too small to talk freely tonight.

"Tomorrow, we'll want to check out the construction methods they utilize in Ame," Kakashi noted evenly over his bowl of rice. His mask was pulled down to eat.

The rest of them nodded.

"I suppose we'll also want to ask around for the regional styles, the most popular architect of the area." Tenzo offered.

At the end of the meal, the same elderly lady who had checked them in came out to ask about the food.

"We loved it, thank you," Tenzou told her with a genuine smile that reached his eyes.

"Of course, sweetheart," the older woman clasped his hands in hers. "You must tell me how a handsome bunch like you ended up all the way out here."

Sakura watched the scene with sleepy eyes, unable to suppress a yawn into her teacup as she took a sip. Ko gave her a glance from the side before standing up.

He bowed in thanks to the inn keeper and quietly said, "Please excuse us. My wife and I will be retiring for the night."

Sakura jolted imperceptibly at this. Across the table, she also saw Kakashi lift his eyes up from his bowl.

"Of course, honey. Don't let me keep you."

Ko smiled at Sakura from where he stood and offered her his elbow. She deliberated for a second before slowly standing and wrapping her hand around his arm. She blushed, only partially as an act, and demurely stepped away with him.

At the table, the inn keeper tutted, "What a handsome pair."

She fixed Tenzo a look, who was still warmly holding her hands, and Kakashi, who slouched back in his seat, legs spread wide. "Now tell me, how do the two of you know each other?" She asked with a bright smile.

Kakashi took only one second before he drawled, "This is my _partner_ , Yamato- _kun_."

Sakura and Ko could only quicken their pace into the room before they burst out laughing.

* * *

They'd set out early the next morning. Clad in civilian wear, they could only stroll at a regular pace towards Ame. The mood was quiet as they took in the new environment, and conversation was sparse.

The tall walls around the hidden village came into view soon enough. In the summer, this part of the world was oppressively humid, with heavy rain that came sporadically but in droves.

Sakura gently fanned herself as she puffed from the heat. She could see a small train of sweat down Ko's profile.

"Let's divide and reconvene. Village gates at dusk?"

Kakashi stepped to be walking next to Sakura, the message was clear. She drifted a little closer to him and they passed the unmanned village gates.

Inside Ame, the lack of development was apparent. The average quality of life looked to be much lower than that of Konoha's. Sakura steadily counted the number of undernourished children she saw running around, some of them staring back at her with curiosity or otherwise blankness.

She couldn't help but grimace.

"Ame's always been a battle ground," Kakashi interrupted her thoughts, speaking under his breath as they moved forward. "The strategic location of their village means wars here whenever the other hidden villages don't want to fight on home territory."

As an afterthought he added, "Including ours."

Sakura nodded. They kept moving.

Despite the wariness of the locals, there was nothing about Ame that indicated any kind of banding together—which they were looking for. If anything, the locals seemed hostile to any kind of relationship further than that of their immediate families. Sakura saw no indication of young love, or children playing with friends in the desolate streets.

Kakashi nodded them into a bar. Sakura tailed him and rolled her shoulders to loosen up. They sat at the empty bar and Kakashi ordered drinks for both of them, then they waited. While Kakashi seemed to be genuinely drinking his, Sakura carefully evaporated hers with a chakra laden grip when she was sure there was nobody to see. A few drinks later, a commotion behind them told them they were no longer alone.

With her back turned, Sakura could smell the blood on the group.

Two men of average stature came to stand next to Sakura at the bar, a third next to Kakashi. They were fenced in, but Kakashi's body language stayed casual and languid as he sipped his sake and struck up a quiet conversation with Sakura that moments ago, they were not having.

Sakura struggled to keep up the guise of conversation while also listening to the mutterings of the shinobi who had just entered. Thankfully, they made themselves more apparent.

The one closest to Sakura leaned in roughly. She instantly jerked back in her seat as the man nearly spilled into her lap. Kakashi had stilled.

The man adjusted to lean closer to her still. His eyes were unfocused, they must have been drinking elsewhere too. He deeply inhaled and declared, "the scent of sake and flowers… delicious."

Sakura kept her lips pursued in what she hoped was neutral. The other nin with the man were laughing at his clumsiness. He stayed close to Sakura and scrutinized her face. "A pretty girl. Are you with this sorry fuck?" He gestured to Kakashi, who remained impassive.

Sakura forced herself to drop her eyes. She quietly stated, "We're just passing through."

The man barked a laugh in her face. She forced herself to stay still. He hooked an arm around her shoulders and pounded on the bar for a drink. His eyes stayed trained on her as he tilted his head and grinned into her neck.

"Just passing through? You have half an hour to spare?"

Sakura paused for just a second. Gears turning in her head, she steeled her resolve. Slowly, she maneuvered her posture to allow her yukata to slip just slightly lower on her collarbone. Arching her neck, she averted her gaze.

"That depends," She said just as quietly.

He laughed loudly and roughly squeezed her shoulders. She could smell a stench from him, mixed with the blood.

"What's your price, bitch?"

Kakashi spoke up, his eyes trained straight ahead of them. "It depends on what you have."

The man put one hand on Sakura's thigh. She shied away, closer to Kakashi. "Not without paying," she explained with an edge. Looking up at the man, her eyes finally met his. "How does someone in this shit hole have any money?" She goaded.

Wrong move.

He slammed a hand into her cheek, sending her out of her chair and sprawling on the floor. From the corner of her eye, Sakura could see that Kakashi's body had tensed but otherwise stayed still, facing forward. The other two men were watching the scene. The bartender kept busy in a corner, eyes averted.

Her vision blurred slightly as she shook her head.

The man stood over her. He stepped on a corner of her yukata, then nudged her with a heavy foot. It slightly pulled her yukata off of her shoulder. "You dirty bitch. I'm a mercenary. I was specially recruited by the Akatsuki."

He sneered at her.

Sakura pressed herself up to her elbows. She looked at the man again, and forced her eyes to tear. Still, she didn't say anything.

"No?" He had grabbed her by the front of her dress now, and lifted her up. Sakura could tell by the light breeze that the front of her yukata had opened. "Money's not interesting enough for a whore? I could just fucking kill you."

"I don't want trouble," Sakura forced herself to cry. Her hands came up to grab his, tugging with controlled strength to try to cover herself. She needed to diffuse the situation before it got more physical.

Kakashi stepped in. He signaled the barkeep over, and also laid a light hand on the offensive man's shoulder. The man reeled back and was about to lunge at Kakashi when the copy nin gestured to the sake laid on the bar.

"Friend," he drawled, "Let's have a drink first. Leave her, we can stop here for a while and you can have fun later."

The man gave Sakura one last look, that turned from angry to leering. He dumped her with a rough shove of her yukata that Sakura forced herself to fall from. She clattered into a few tables away, and quickly retreated, broken-seeming, to a corner of the room.

Kakashi began to pour for the men. With a light touch, he generously sloshed sake into the cups. "To men," he toasted. The man who'd assaulted Sakura looked at him with some reserve, still taking the drink. The others cheerfully joined in.

The one next to Kakashi nodded in Sakura's direction. "Are you a keeper? Sorry about her face."

"No," Kakashi waved him off lazily. "No problem if you pay." He took a sip before continuing. "I'm a small time ninja. Nothing impressive."

The violent man's interest was piqued. "That so?"

Kakashi smiled modestly, tipping his sake back down his throat. "Doubt I could get into that mercenary league you mentioned."

"—Akatsuki," one of them corrected.

Kakashi shrugged, "Never heard of 'em. Was it started here?"

"Think so, and shit pays better than anything else in his godforsaken place." The man eyed Kakashi, "You from around here?"

Kakashi laughed. "Thankfully, no. We're from stone."

One of them leered at Sakura again, "Women from stone, eh?"

* * *

Sakura sat quietly in the corner of the bar, forcing her body to shiver as she diligently nursed her bruised cheek. She might have had a black eye too. For a half time mercenary, the man had a strong right hook. Within half an hour, Kakashi had plied their mouths open with enough sake to drown an elephant.

With the wine flowing generously, the men took to Kakashi instantly and took him in as just another rough mannered brute. Kakashi, on the other hand, kept up appearances with a slight drawl and enough street mannerisms to be convincing.

Sakura listened in on the conversation. It sounded like this group, Akatsuki, was being promoted as place for all wayward nin. Given the lack of notoriety elsewhere, she could only assume it was started or largely head quartered here. The pay as decent, missions mostly assassinations, but also some that seemed like peace-keeping, to her surprise. The contracted mercenaries seemed to range from impressive to lackluster.

 _Clearly_ , she thought, eyeing the men with resentment.

Suddenly, the man who hit her fell out of his seat. He keeled over, head rolling on the floor. Sakura startled up, standing as she watched him with wide eyes. The other men also turned, including Kakashi, who put a hand up and murmured, "Maa, maa."

"Hey, Hideo!" One of the other men yelled, kicking the downed man in the ribs. He made no movement, but shortly started snoring. The standing man scoffed.

Kakashi sighed, and put down his sake, looking disappointed. He gestured to Sakura, who crept over, eyeing Hideo as she passed him on the ground. She kept her head lowered until Kakashi tilted her face up by the chin. Impassively, he maneuvered her head around and studied her with half-interest.

"It looks like your friend Hideo did quite a number on Aika-chan here." Kakashi looked down at the sprawled man, and sighed loudly. "He's not even awake to make good on his promise now."

Kakashi looked at the other men, and gestured to Sakura's beaten face. "You guys interested?"

They grimaced at her black eye and swollen cheek.

"Then I'll be going now, before I'm out even more money from the sake." Kakashi lazily pulled a few bills from his obi, and slid them onto the table. He stood and grabbed Sakura by the bicep, then roughly nudged Hideo with his foot.

"And next time, tell your friend not to touch the goods before he pays."

* * *

Sakura stumbled after Kakashi out of the bar. His hand was still iron-clasped on her arm, and she had trouble keeping up with his strides. It was raining heavily when they stepped out, and she hissed at the stinging sensation of the fat rain drops assaulting her tender cheek.

Kakashi didn't say anything to her. He also didn't remove his hand. So they trudged along silently in the streets. Some of the orphans Sakura had observed were still standing or sitting along the sides of the road, and this time they might have been the ones looking at her with pity.

When they'd passed through the gates to the meeting point, it was already dark. In the shadows, Tenzo and Ko stood waiting under a pair of umbrellas. They stepped forward when they saw Kakashi swiftly approaching them, and Sakura stumbling after.

Exhausted, Sakura tripped in her geta. Kakashi chose this moment to let go of her arm, and Ko quickly grabbed on to her and tugged her under his umbrella. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Ko quickly noticed her face, and looked from her to Kakashi.

"Later," Kakashi bit out. "We should get moving."

Ko kept Sakura under his umbrella as they walked. She shivered with the cold of her drenched yukata, and also grit her teeth at the pain radiating out from her bruised face.

"Sakura-san," Ko said quietly to her as they walked, "Do you want to heal your face?"

She looked up at him with a reassuring smile, "Let's give it a while longer, I don't want to blow our cover."

An hour out from Ame, they had passed the inn they had stayed at without stopping. As they rounded a hill towards another similarly sized establishment, Sakura passed a hand over her face and quickly repaired the damage there. In higher spirits, she was almost impressed at the damage the hit had done.

"Tenzo and Ko, you're in one room," Kakashi said without glancing back at them. Ko gave Sakura a worried look, who nodded at him. He handed her the umbrella and darted through the rain to reach Tenzo.

Sakura stayed a few steps behind Kakashi. She watched his back as he redeemed a room key for them, and then followed him up.

Quietly closing the door, Sakura stood awkwardly in the entrance. Kakashi still hadn't looked at her. She watched him slowly peel off his wet layers, hitai-ate, discrete weapon pouches, and finally the yukata layer over his undershirt and pants. He threw it all on the table in the room and let out a deep breath.

Finally, he turned around to face Sakura. His hands were planted on the table behind him.

"You shouldn't have done that," his voice had an edge.

Sakura grimaced at being reprimanded.

"I felt like it was the natural next step."

He barked out a sarcastic laugh, "Playing a prostitute?"

She straightened her back. "You think they would have believed that I was your colleague? Did you see how they looked at me?

Kakashi glared at her. "It's precisely how they looked at you that made your plan a shit idea."

"Captain, I would never have done it if I thought it would jeopardize our mission," Sakura defended.

He banged one palm down on the table, making her jump. "It's not just about the mission, Haruno. What would have happened if I actually let him take you away?"

Sakura countered, "He almost died from alcohol poiso—"

"I drugged his drink. You think I could have left that up to fate?"

She narrowed her eyes, offended at his lack of confidence in her. Sakura's chest puffed up despite the rolling anger that radiated off of Kakashi.

"There are a million ways I could have disposed of him, more than half of which would have kept him alive and none the wiser the next day."

Kakashi gave her an impossible look and tilted his head back in a growl. "I'm going to shower," he bit out as he stalked to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him before she could reply.

Sakura let her mouth drop open in exasperation, staring at the shut door.

* * *

At some point while waiting for the shower, Sakura had already fallen asleep on the double futon laid out for them. The sound of the door opening got her to blearily open her eyes, and she sat up on her elbows as she regarded Kakashi. He stood over her at the foot of the futon, towel wrapped around his waist and dripping water onto the floor.

Neither of them said anything as they stared at each other, and Kakashi was the first to turn away, busying himself in his pack. Sakura looked at his back balefully, and got up for her turn. Her wet clothes made suction noises as she slicked them away from her body, draping them over a table to dry for the next day's travel.

With a sigh, she shut the bathroom door behind her, and leaned against it tiredly. Sakura ran her hands through her hair multiple times, looking at her reflection resentfully in the mirror.

She shouldn't have gone for it. But it was no mistake. Even if Sakura had been alone, she would have felt comfortable doing what she had to get that information.

Stepping into the hot shower, she smoothed her hair down and thought back to their first training, her try-outs.

 _"On this team,_ _medics need to operate with discretion, and to be strong supports when needed._ _"_

She recalled his words. It was her fault they hadn't aligned on expectations before going in. Kakashi's anger could have also been read as worry. Sakura mulled over that possibility as she massaged in the shampoo.

She dipped her head under the stream of the shower. What exactly was the dynamic with the last medic, Rin? Did Kakashi really expect her to just hang back and watch from shelter? Sakura shook her head. She knew her own worth and that was as an active member in combat and action.

She dried herself and slipped into her sleepwear. Sakura padded out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her damp hair.

Kakashi was sitting on the futon, leaned against the wall. His ankles were crossed, eyes closed. His posture looked relaxed.

Sakura had a sense he was awake.

Quietly, she knelt in front of him.

"Captain."

He opened his eyes, looking right at her. She could read some anger in them, still.

"I apologize," Sakura put her hands in her lap. She tried to convey her earnestness. "I haven't given you enough reasons to be confident in my abilities. I apologize for making you worry."

His lips stayed in a firm line. Reading his face, Sakura continued.

"It's my intention to continue contributing to active combat, and other things, like today. There are two theories to medic strategy. One is what you described, where a medic is back-up and kept safe by other team members. The benefit of that is you generally always have someone to heal you."

"The other theory is to have a combat medic. This is how Tsunade trained me. I believe myself to be more than proficient in battle, and would still have faith in my placement on this team even if I didn't specialize in medical ninjutsu. The benefit of my style is that you have a medic, and another offensive player."

Sakura maintained the eye contact. Kakashi still said nothing, but having done her spiel, Sakura felt like she should give him time.

She nodded, got up to turn off the lights, and laid down on her side of the futon, careful to give her captain space.

In the dark, she heard his quiet voice, "I've never had a combat medic before. I'm willing to try your suggestion."

Sakura smiled.

"Thank you, captain."

* * *

The pace back to Konoha was much less punishing than the pace on the way there. The next morning, Sakura's cheek still throbbed lightly but showed no physical trace of the battering. Kakashi was stiff to her at first, but eased back into what seemed like a cool normal as they rejoined Ko and Tenzo on the road.

They made it back to Konoha around dusk, and Kakashi dismissed the three of them to do the mission briefing himself. Ko and Tenzo politely bid her goodbye, and Sakura ambled her way home. She was exhausted, but happy.

Her first mission with her anbu team. She had gotten to see a hidden village she'd never visited prior. Learned critical information about this insurgent group. And come to an agreement, or stalemate, with her captain.

Sakura knew that with seasoned shinobi, their wills were battle hardened and difficult to sway. She learned as much from her time in the hospital. Her captain was young, but apparently just as bullish as all the rest of those leathery commanders. She knew there was a reason why they were all like that.

Sakura had respect for his ways, even if she didn't agree. She'd only just reached home when she noticed a note on her doorstep.

_training to prove your suggestion. grounds fifteen. noon._

Sakura smiled to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who subscribed the story, bookmarked it, gave kudos and even followed me as an author. Your excitement about the story makes all the difference for me. I was so excited to share this week's chapter and have been thinking about it since Wednesday. It's a battle against myself to not release a chapter early.
> 
> I also wanted to thank the readers who left comments. Thank you Mrssakurahatake, clandestine_clear, whiteblossom, J80Kage, cerezo and Sademerkki! I always welcome comments, especially feedback. 
> 
> My favorite part of this week's chapter is seeing Sakura negotiate with Kakashi. They're both hard-headed in their own ways, and I think it's such an interesting dynamic to see them work with and concede to each other. If I were to describe next week's chapter, I would say it starts off hilarious and moves into some serious developments. It's a good one. So excited to share it with you!
> 
> \- Maudlim


	3. Problems of this Sort

They spent the entire weekend in backbreaking work. Sakura was glad this wasn't the tryout process for the team, though Kakashi must have told the whole team to cycle through. On Saturday, Yugao came by to kick Sakura's ass. On Sunday, Ko and Tenzo separately visited.

But Kakashi himself was the one constant. He was there, surprisingly on time, from the minute they started to the minute they ended.

At times he would spar with them, and at other times, he would suddenly pull away to observe in the treeline. The cruelest was when he would return to the fray without notice, darting out like a deranged flash of silver. At best, Sakura would be a little startled and redo her footwork. At worst, he'd delivered a nasty gash to her side, which she had to heal gradually and painfully over the ensuing two hours of sparring.

And at the end of every day, Kakashi also demanded that she heal whoever else was present. On Saturday, he even purposely gouged himself in the thigh with a kunai, and sat there calmly with expectant eyes as she threw her hands up in frustration.

How could she leave him? He'd die from the blood loss in ten.

Sakura had to drag herself home and it took everything not to collapse before getting into her bed. Kyuta asked about her but she was too tired to say anything more than a muffled, "I'm fine, just sleepy" into her pillow before passing out.

On Sunday, Kakashi brought out his ninken. One by one, he politely introduced them like children, and then instructed them to "have at it" with Sakura. It was the ultimate test of agility and endurance as she rounded off the pack of ten dogs, careful not to hurt any of them.

Frustrated at her pacifist behavior in battle, Kakashi rolled up his sleeve and went after her with a chidori, which gave Sakura a mild shock and earned him a dislocated shoulder in response.

And then Ko and Tenzo showed up.

By the end of the day, Sakura was lying flat on the ground, spread eagle. Her chest huffed up and down and her mouth was completely dry from dehydration. Kakashi strolled up to her, gently holding on to his shoulder, and peered down at the medic on the ground.

"Captain, this is it," she croaked. "I'm actually going to die if you push me any more."

"No more fighting," he agreed. She sighed in relief.

"But I heard there's two genin teams nearby, let's go offer them some healing, ne?"

Sakura could have cried.

In the end, she sat with her back propped against a tree as the tiny genin, some of them as young as six, toddled up to where she sat and offered her their various bumps and bruises. One of them had a cut from falling into a particularly sharp tree root, and was in tears as Sakura coaxed him over and soothed down his fat dirt-speckled cheek.

Kakashi stood off to the side, quietly carrying on a conversation with the jounin instructors. She recognized one of them as Genma Shiranui, a cheeky man of around Kakashi's age. Sakura knew him well from his hospital stays, which he always insisted on, and always requested her as his healer. The man who cried wolf, she thought with a chuckle, _and this teary baby boy must also be on his team._

Done with the healing, Sakura gave the young boy a reassuring smile. He continued to look worried, and clutched her hand without intention to release it.

"Oy—Haruki-chan, you gotta let her go!" Genma shouted, but the boy shot him a fierce scowl. "Sakura-san's my friend!"

Young Haruki-chan started arguing back, in a raspy set of growls and barks that reminded Sakura of the nin-ken. She cradled her head in her free hand. Genma had to come over and physically extricate the taken boy, prying his chubby fingers one by one off of Sakura and hauling him over his shoulder.

"Say goodbye now!" He instructed Haruki as he walked them away. The boy began to cry and his wails were heard until they were out of sight.

Kakashi whistled low as he strolled up to her slumped form. Sakura had to force her eyes up to meet him, creaking her sore neck. Kakashi looked none worse for wear, hands in his pockets, maybe at worst like he'd just gone out for a night of drinking.

"Captain," she groaned.

Kakashi offered her a hand up, which she took with effort. He had to mostly haul her up, after which she stood with wobbly legs.

He scanned her low chakra levels. "You alright?" He asked, blasé.

Sakura leaned back on the tree. She gave him a bleary smile as she answered.

"This would be one of those mission nights where I would promptly pass out and ask for the last watch shift."

Something that sounded like a laugh came out of Kakashi, which spooked Sakura so much that she almost stumbled forward. When she looked at him again, he was crouched on the ground in front of her, back presented.

"Come on, last shift it is. I'll take you home."

Sakura reeled a little at the unexpected offer. Slowly, she ambled forward and gingerly placed herself behind Kakashi. He hitched his arms under her knees and she leaned forward to grasp his neck.

Sakura tried hard to keep her posture tight, maintaining a professional distance between them, but she soon gave in to exhaustion and sagged forward as he took them across the rooftops.

"Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"Did I pass?"

He was quiet for a bit. Even in exhaustion, Sakura's heart raced for the answer. Finally he spoke.

"I think so. I'll let you know otherwise."

She sighed and smiled. Sakura could see the top of her apartment coming up and tapped on his shoulder.

"Captain, I can get off here."

He slowed and looked at her inquisitively.

"My house is right up there," Sakura explained as she got off and took a creaky step forward. Kakashi shrugged and watched as she went, her walk vaguely similar to that of the baby genin, as she made a final leap onto her balcony. She gave a tired wave to him and a thanks.

He watched her fumble for her keys, and jiggle the door open. Once it shut, Kakashi heard her say to someone inside, "I'm home."

Satisfied, Kakashi nodded to himself and turned to leave.

* * *

"Oy, Kakashi!" Genma's hot breath in his ear told him the man had already been drinking. Kakashi cringed at the volume and intimacy and shouldered him away.

"You bastard, you didn't tell me you got Sakura Haruno on your team."

Kakashi gave him a dull stare over his drink as Genma settled into the booth seat across from him, without invitation.

"Well it's not like she could have joined your genin team," he drawled.

"Why the hell not! Did you see her with Haruki?" Genma barked a laugh. "Boy's in love! Hell, I'm in love."

Genma nursed a broad smile to himself, eyes glinting. "You ever see those jounin instructors with the pretty young wives? Matsumoto on team eighteen?" He pressed his finger on the table to emphasize each word, "His beautiful bride brings him bento to the training grounds every day."

Kakashi looked nonplussed.

The other man shot him a sorrowful look, "Meanwhile, no Sakura and some friend you are—cold enough to be an ex."

The copy nin snorted into his drink. "Any ex of yours is the opposite of icy. Did you forget about Ank—"

"Don't say her name!" He shouted, swinging at Kakashi. His eyes darted around the bar for the devil's summon.

"Yeesh," he sighed into his seat, seated once he didn't see any flash of spiky purple hair. "You did that on purpose. Bastard."

Kakashi laughed. "Maybe."

Genma took a gulp of beer, then eyed Kakashi. "So you're really telling me that you're not interested?"

His friend gave him a look so guileless it was as if he didn't know the definition of _interested_.

Genma grumbled at him. Kakashi shrugged and took a moment before speaking, opening his mouth long before he said anything.

"I think it's too soon."

He could see the gears turning as the other man furiously gnawed on a toothpick.

"Too soon since what?"

A sigh. "Since Rin, asshole."

"Rin? Nohara?" Genma _tsked_ as Kakashi nodded.

"It's not like she's _dead_. If anything," Genma eyed Kakashi, carefully judging what he would say next, "it's more like she left you."

The copy nin debated getting physical with Genma. He meant to give a withering glare but only managed a tired, baleful stare.

Genma snorted at the lack of enthusiasm in his ire. He honestly could't get it. Kakashi had landed one of the most eligible bachelorettes in Konoha, delivered and tied with a bow on his doorstep. The taichou kouhai relationship—was there anything more delectable?

The senbon nin needed to find out what was Kakashi's deal, and whether or not he was serious about not pursuing Sakura. Then he could decide if we needed to move in. _She had looked susceptible to his cute genin, as any large-hearted medic should be…_

"What's the harm of having a little fun?" He waved for another round as he said this. "You know, keep it casual, see if you like her. If you do, then great! Girlfriend, wife, whatever."

At another reproachful look from Kakashi, Genma continued, "If you don't, then whenever Rin almighty comes back, nobody has to tell her."

At least, that's how Genma would have done it himself. Everybody was a trial run for the final partner of a lifetime. He shrugged, half to himself. It made total sense, from an optimization perspective.

"Honestly, this is a problem of having too many good options. Only a bastard like you has problems of this sort." He accused Kakashi.

"What problem does Kakashi have now?" A smooth voice intoned. The two of them in the booth turned to Ko as he slid down next to Kakashi and clapped him lightly on the back in greeting.

"Ko!" Genma bellowed in greeting, he leaned in deviously. "Listen, we were just discussing the beautiful new addition to your team."

" _He_ was," Kakashi corrected.

Ko's smile slowly lowered. He looked from Kakashi to Genma, and sat a little straighter in his seat.

"Did you see that?" Genma near shouted. "Yo…"

Ko kept his tone even, eyes trained on the table, as he pulled one of the beers towards him. "Sakura-san is very special."

Genma's eyes grew to be saucers. Even Kakashi stiffened a little. In all of their years of knowing Ko, for Genma, since they were on the same genin team, it was rare to ever hear the solemn man say anything about liking a woman.

Kakashi looked at Ko and the Hyuuga stared back with a casual shrug. His face looked serious, no sign of the leering that Genma had plastered all over.

The copy nin raised his eyebrows and had to take a deep drink, while shooting looks of confusion to Genma, who shook his head in return.

"So…" Kakashi's mouth was cotton dry, he wasn't used to being at a loss for words.

Genma completed his sentence for him, "What are you going to do?"

"See if she likes me back," Ko said evenly, and with gravity.

Genma sighed at his lost chance at love. Kakashi sighed at the stress of another vector to consider on their team.

* * *

"Sakura, stay behind." Tsunade waved off the other team members.

Sakura moved closer to the large desk that her shishou sat behind. She placed on hand on a pile of paperwork, and smiled at Tsunade.

"How are you liking this team?"

Sakura nodded. "I like them, shishou. That first mission was challenging—"

"But there wasn't any combat?"

She shook her head. "Not physically. Just, learning everyone's styles."

Tsunade gave her a long look before reading between the lines. "Hatake's style."

Sakura couldn't help but hem and haw a little bit.

"Listen Sakura, I'm sending you to an unincorporated area this time, north of us." The tannin studied her seriously. "They reached out to us for a lot of civilian help healing. But there's been intel of instability. We really don't know what's there, which is why I'm sending a damn army with you."

Sakura nodded.

Tsunade sighed as she studied the girl she trained. "My point in telling you this is… be careful. Anbu is a class of its own."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's chapter is shorter than the rest. We're gearing up for an adventure! Thank you to everyone who bookmarked, subscribed or gave kudos to the story! And of course, thank you to those who left me your thoughts: whiteblossom, cerezo, gkonzen03, Frt, faerietell, lyndseydan14 and glassy28. I read every comment and appreciate them all. Do let me know if you have feedback also.
> 
> Writing the training scene and convo with Genma made me laugh pretty hard. I love imagining the team in action and musing about what antics serious, driven Kakashi would use to test his medic's skills. I also love the idea that he has a friend like Genma, open, heart on his sleeve, filthy at times. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Oh, and an extra prompt for this week: Do you have a favorite sakusasu, kakasaku or itasaku fic? One that you think is less well known? I've worked my way through many of the most popular ones but I'm always looking for more.
> 
> Thanks! And see you next Sunday.


	4. The Heaviest Run

They ran through numerous forests. The land north of the fire country was the opposite of their home climate—cold and oppressive. If Sakura's internal geography had any merit, they were close to the border of frozen Shimo.

Despite it being early fall, it was freezing. An unending drizzle covered the mountainous landscape in a fine dew that made it impossible to run without using chakra. The sheer amount of rain made it unpleasant to talk while traveling, so they moved in a diamond formation with Kakashi in front, Yugao, Sakura and finally Ko.

They reached their first destination after three days of travel. Sakura was frozen to the bone by the time they arrived, and grateful she had the foresight to bring a traveling cloak despite the balmy weather in the fire country. She clutched the cloak tighter to herself.

Approaching the small village, Sakura confirmed the location. _Kasugai-mura_.

Kakashi fell back from the front of the pack to let Sakura overtake him. She silently removed her mask and clipped it to her waist. It was early morning, and they'd run into a thick fog several miles ago. In the geography of a town, the fog wove through the shanty homes and structures and tricked the eye into movement in the peripheral.

Sakura shivered again. She recognized a building painted as a medical hut, and gestured to her team to follow. Sakura rapped lightly on the door.

There was a minute of nothing. Behind her, Yugao exchanged confused looks with Kakashi.

Then the door slowly opened. A woman, maybe mid-thirties at oldest, studied Sakura from behind the half shut door, keeping it as protection between them. Thin brown hair fell around a boney face. The woman's eyes were dull, and deeply set.

"Hello," Sakura greeted, putting on her most well-meaning smile. "I'm Sakura Haruno. This is my team. I was sent here from Konoha to give medical aid."

The woman said nothing still. But after staring deeply at Sakura, she slowly released her hold on the door and let it open. Tentatively, she gestured for them to enter.

Sakura shot a glance back at Kakashi, who nodded, before stepping into the otherwise entirely dark room. Inside, it took her eyes seconds to adjust to the dimness. Only a small candle was lit in the corner of the sitting area. A faucet leaked into the sink.

One by one, the rest of her team swept in behind her. Finally, the woman closed the door, and came to stand in front of Sakura. She leaned on a dining table in the middle of the room, looking exhausted.

"I'm Orika," her mouth stayed a thin line on her face. "I'm the local healer. We're a small village, we don't have anything to offer for your help, if you choose to stay."

At seeing no waver in resolve from Sakura, she gestured to a small door behind her. "Do you want to come with me?"

Sakura nodded with a small smile, and shrugged off her travel pack. Ko offered out his hand to take it, and she gratefully handed it to him.

Six cots lined the room, five of them full. In the dim lighting, it looked like mostly youth and children. Their faces looked pale, and mouths parched. _They might be feverish, but not enough to sweat,_ Sakura thought.

Orika was looking at Sakura, gauging her reaction. Realizing she was being watched, Sakura put on another smile. "May I?"

She approached the first of the beds. A teenager, maybe no older than twelve, lay asleep. Sakura laid a gentle hand on his forehead, and closed her eyes in concentration. Then she moved her hand down to his chest, and gently pulled the lightest amount of chakra through her hand.

She swept into his chest and looked for strangeness.

One by one, Sakura checked all five of the cots. Finally, she stood and nodded to Orika. They went back to the main area, where Yugao and Ko were crouched on the ground, Kakashi leaned against the sink.

"At first glance," Sakura began quietly, careful not to wake those in the next room. "It looked like just malnutrition. Which can be solved with long term care and upkeep."

Her eyes darted to Yugao, who was watching her intently.

"But, I think there's something else that's impairing their body's natural healing. Even for malnourishment, they should have more energy than they do."

Orika's dark eyes stared back at Sakura in an unwavering gaze.

"I'd like to take a look at the local food and water sources, and rule out environmental factors. I can also provide some direct treatment, to speed up their natural healing. Would you be alright if I did that, Orika-san?"

Sakura knew this wasn't good news to the healer, who's expression only got more grim. Still, she nodded her permission.

The pink haired medic turned to Kakashi. "Captain, request to spend up to a week here in Kasugai-mura?"

"Granted."

Orika looked between the members of the anbu team. "We are grateful you are here. Haruno-san, you can stay in this building if you'd like. I will set up a spare cot for you in this room."

"Another family can put your teammates up. There is a small backroom rented to travelers. I'll make arrangements for you."

Kakashi nodded, "Thank you, Orika-san."

She shook her head, and repeated, "We don't have much to offer."

Kakashi straightened and addressed the other nin. "Since Haruno will be staying here, and there's only one other room, let's do a continuous watch. Eight hour shifts—morning, afternoon and night."

The nodded, and Sakura felt herself relax. Shrugging off her coat, she got started on the task at hand.

* * *

For the first day and a half, Sakura busied herself with manual healing. Her chakra was low from the traveling to Kasugai-mura and it took a quick nap into the afternoon of the first day for her to feel revived. When she awoke in the same, small and damp room, Ko was sitting guard at the dining table.

They shared a quick meal of their packed meal bars, which would be their source of food for the rest of the trip, before Sakura ducked back into the room with cots. Orika was wiping down one of the patients with a sponge.

Sakura sat down at the first cot, placing her hands over the boy's chest, and began to heal.

It took around two hours to get him in decent place, enough for Sakura to have confidence that he could naturally recover.

Two hours across five of them, Sakura thought she could finish at least three that night. Four if she pushed it.

Late into the night, after Orika had kindly also moved a candle into the current room, Sakura sat up from the third cot. She rolled her shoulders tiredly. If she sought it out, she could feel Kakashi's chakra signature in the next room. He must have gotten the night shift.

Going from bed to bed, she quickly examined each of the patients, making sure they were stable for the night. Quietly, Sakura blew out the candle.

Stepping back into the main room, she found Kakashi quietly chatting with Orika. Sakura cleared her throat to make herself known, and approached them at the table, sitting down with little grace.

"How are they?" Orika asked.

Sakura nodded, "Well. I think they're getting stronger, especially the ones who were less sick to begin with. Once they wake up, we'll have to make sure they get something nutritious to eat."

The other woman stilled.

"Some of them are orphans. We don't have…"

Sakura's mouth went dry.

"We can spare some of our supplies." Kakashi spoke from where he sat. He met her eyes and nodded.

* * *

The next day, after administering treatment on the last of the patients, Sakura recruited Yugao, who was on morning watch, for a trip to the only grocer. It was a small store with a tiny grandmother, sitting on a highstool, overseeing her goods.

There was some produce, two whole chickens, and condiments like salt and pepper.

Sakura felt like a glutton when she pulled out her wallet and bought one of everything. The storekeep was overjoyed, and Sakura's own mouth watered at the thought of eating warm rice and fresh produce, after less than a week of eating only meal bars.

When they brought the purchases back to the medical house, she laid out the goods and tested each one for common poisons. She looked at the apples, pockmarked but red. The cabbage, which was wilted but full. And she thought of how thin the children looked, lying in the cots. The thought made her heart hurt.

Yugao seemed to read her mind, and put a hand on her arm.

At night, the four of them gathered for food, meal bars, and drinks, water, at Orika's table. Sakura had donated the purchased goods to Orika, who'd made a healthy broth and other snacks for the sick to eat. The four shinobi chewed on meal bars.

"This is my first time in this area."

Sakura and Yugao both nodded at Ko. "Us too," Yugao agreed.

"Not many reasons to come into an unincorporated area like this," Kakashi drawled.

"Seeing the state of things here, it reminds me of Ame."

Ko nodded too. "Both areas destabilized by war."

The meal quieted. Sakura looked troubled, Yugao tired, and Kakashi impassive. Ko tried to revive the conversation, "Sakura-san. Yugao tells me you were on the same genin team."

Sakura smiled at the mention of that, earning her a smirk from Yugao. "Aa, until we were chunin. At first, Yugao and I didn't even get along. You can see how that would be—"

Yugao lightly socked Sakura in the arm, who cried out in admonishment.

"Over time though, I wore Sakura down with my charm." Yugao said in a louder voice.

Sakura laughed, "More like I learned to look away when you were being annoying."

Both Kakashi and Ko were smiling. It was rare for genin teams to end up together again once separated.

"Why did were you split up in the end?"

Something in the air changed a little. The two women's smiles calmed and slowly dropped lower until barely there.

"On a hard mission," Sakura started very slowly, her mind slowly turning back to that time. "We ran into hunter-in where we didn't expect them—reports had placed them at 30 miles south of us. Our other teammate, Yosuke, was injured during the run-in. Our sensei died helping us get away."

"I'm sorry," said Ko.

Sakura gave the smallest smile, polite more than anything. "Our teammate died in the hospital."

Yugao sat silently, head tilted down. Sakura looked at her to see if she wanted to contribute.

"Yu-chan and I, we had to carry Yosuke back."

The purple haired nin nodded, "It was the heaviest run of my life. We had to trade off because we were both so spent."

"Eventually, anbu found us on the outskirts of Fire. They took Yosuke and sped him to the hospital. But the whole time, I thought—if I knew how to heal, would Yosuke-kun still be here right now?"

Kakashi watched Sakura and Yugao quietly, studying them. He wondered if he had been part of the team that had grabbed the boy.

"That's when you left with Tsunade," he stated.

"Yes," she nodded, "That's when, and why."

Sakura smiled at Ko and Kakashi, settled on the other side of the table. She crinkled her eyes but caused a few tears to drop, which she quickly wiped away with a laugh.

* * *

Sakura woke early the next morning. She opened her eyes and observed the blue light trickling in through the window, and the gently smoking candle. It must have been pre-dawn, and still Kakashi's watch.

She didn't see him in the small room, and doubted that he was with the patients. The man seemed to have a penchant for finding the quietest corner of any room. Pulling the duvet around her like a cape, Sakura padded to the main door and opened it to a rush of frigid air. He sat on the porch, back facing her.

"Captain," she called.

He turned to look at her and gave a wave. Sakura yawned as she ambled up to him.

"What time is it?"

"Almost five."

Sakura laughed and shook her head, "It's too early. But now I'm fully awake."

She breathed in deeply, humming appreciatively at the sweet fragrance of grass and moss.

"Captain, I was going to hike to the springs where the villagers get their water today. It's two hours from here, do you want to come with me?" Sakura paused. "Your watch shift would be over by the time we get back."

Kakashi snorted, "I'm not just on duty when I'm on watch. Get dressed, I'll come."

Sakura shrugged and held up her hands in faux peace. She smiled as she went back inside and quickly slipped on her tight anbu vest. It made her feel warmer with how close to the body it sat. She pulled on her cloak over that, and met him back outside.

They walked along in silence, Sakura leading the way based on Orika's directions. Kakashi hadn't said much to her after last night's conversation. In fact, he hadn't said anything at all.

Keeping step next to him, Sakura wondered if he was a person who closed up at tragedy, or even just at the sight of tears. She was the opposite, and sometimes had the effect of oil on water with people like that. She wondered if her sharing last night would only repel her already cold captain further.

The path stretched out in front of them, and as Sakura thought harder and harder, she couldn't help the words before they'd already tumbled out of her mouth.

"Have you ever lost anyone?"

Kakashi stopped walking. Sakura mentally kicked herself.

"Captain, I'm sorry. That was inappropriate for me to ask."

He slowly moved his eyes from the ground to her. Sakura looked genuine, he thought.

"No. It's alright. My sensei. And my friend."

They stared at each other, standing feet apart in the misted forest floor. Fog creeped around their legs. The trees sang with birds.

"My father, too."

"I'm sorry," Sakura admitted softly.

Kakashi looked wistful as he looked up into the treetops. For a moment, Sakura felt like he looked simultaneously his age, much older, and much younger. She reminded herself that he was only a few years older than she was. His eyes looked _so_ _sad_.

"Me too."

* * *

At the spring, Kakashi kept careful watch over Sakura as she tucked back her cloak and dipped a vial into a pool of fresh water. She gave it a perfunctory sniff, before tucking it into her small hip pack.

Surveying the area, she couldn't help but smile. "It's beautiful here," she said.

Kakashi nodded. He followed her gaze around. The sun was a quarter of the way up the sky. The tree line in this area was dense, lush plant life growing around the life-giving springs. Ferns peppered the landscape and drops of water rolled off of leaves, giving the sense of continuous motion all around them.

And maybe more than that.

There was something that made his hair stand on end. Sakura had felt it too, because she suddenly stepped closer to him and presented him with her back. Instantly they fell into a defensive position, backs pressed tightly together as they circled, watching.

Sakura could feel Kakashi's shoulders flexing, electric with energy.

A glint flashed out of the trees. Sakura twisted her body to avoid the senbon, and shot a kunai back in the same direction. From behind her, she felt Kakashi spin around and give chase to the source.

Sakura darted into a tree as Kakashi's tanto found register with the enemy, a single man in a dark tunic, with no hitai-ate. They blades clashed with a piercing sound, as the man knocked Kakashi's tanto with a kunai. With space between them, he lunged. This man moved sloppily, leaving openings to his vitals.

Praying that Kakashi would move, Sakura dropped down directly down above him. As the man lunged into view, her chakra laden fist caught his shoulder and Sakura felt a satisfying register. He roared in pain, and blindly slashed at her, forcing her to take several steps back.

As Sakura and Kakashi circled him, his eyes darted madly between them. Sakura noted the gray sheen of his skin, and the opacity of his eyes. The man looked terrible, and if he wasn't attacking them right now with vigor, she'd think he was… dead. As much as she searched, she couldn't find a chakra signature, though she was staring at him directly. Every living thing had one, even if they couldn't possibly perform ninjutsu. Rabbits, mice, toddlers. This man had nothing.

Sakura bit back the bile in her throat. She shot a glance to Kakashi, who acknowledged her. Then, throwing chakra into her feet, Sakura sprinted towards the nin. She cocked her arm back and went for a swing. Predictably, he dodged to the side, but Kakashi was already there with his tanto, driving it through the man's stomach.

The clearing was silent as they took several deep breaths. Kakashi finally relaxed and tilted his tanto down, releasing the body with a slick _shhhp_ onto the soft ground. Sakura moved her gaze from the body to Kakashi when—

Light strands, barely catching the dim light, slung around Kakashi's form. They settled softly, like they had no weight. Like Sakura, Kakashi had noticed, and had barely managed to yell, "Move—!"

The strings tightened around him and pulled back. His body launched back through the air as he made a mangled sound of surprise.

Sakura leapt into action. Grabbing the tanto which he dropped, she darted after him and grabbed some of the strands around Kakashi's abdomen. The sharp wire cut painfully into her fingers, but Sakura slipped the tanto through the loop and cut those free. Kakashi's own hands were clasped around his neck, which was tangled in a mess of razor wires. Blood poured.

Forcing herself to stay calm, Sakura surveyed the tree line. She saw a dash of motion—someone had also seen her. She bound towards them and with one huge hit, toppled the tree they hid behind. The enemy nin leapt out of place, reaching into a bag for another weapon. Before they could finish, Sakura split the ground below their feet and leapt on them as they fell.

She stood up from the smashed body, frantically surveying the trees around them more carefully than before. The clearing, previously beautiful, felt dangerously open.

Kakashi lay askew, hands gently detangling the wires around his face. He made soft gurgles from his throat. As Sakura fell onto him, she cried out at the painful sight. His reinforced mask had thankfully spared him from the worst of it, but a few razor wires still managed to cut deeply into his throat, making it hard for him to speak. The man was weakly picking out the wires from his own open flesh.

Sakura knocked away his hands and elevated his head on her lap. She pulled down his mask gingerly, and grimaced at the sight. Doing one more scan around the area to make sure nobody was left, she set upon healing the worst of the gashes.

Sakura's hands trembled. Kakashi was looking increasingly pale, but his mismatched eyes stayed calmly fixed on her.

She almost laughed. It reminded her of when he'd stabbed himself in the thigh at training. Was this a sick test from him, again?

His muscles stitched themselves together under the glow and movement of her hands. She watched with relief as his skin slowly went from broken open to looking more and more like one pale, smooth, plane.

When the healing was finally done, Sakura placed one shaking hand on his throat, blindly feeling to confirm that it was no longer broken, and rested her head on her other hand. She was trembling.

"Haruno," Kakashi rasped.

Her head shot up to look at him. Kakashi batted at her hand, weakly. "It's hard to breath… if you grab me… like this."

She startled and quickly pulled her hand off his neck.

"I'm sorry, captain. Feeling nervous and glad."

He gave her a chalky grimace.

Sakura moved to set Kakashi back down on the ground. She surveyed him again, some cuts on his abdomen and around his arms. Her fingers on one hand were split open too. Her chakra was at halfway, and if there was another fight, she'd need it. Sakura quickly bandaged Kakashi's remaining wounds up, and tightly wrapped up her wounded hand.

With a kunai, Sakura slowly approached one of the two bodies. She blanched at what she needed to do.

Kakashi was watching her.

"I'm going to take a biospy," she explained. "These nin, I don't feel like I saw a chakra signature from them, I've never seen anyone… Tsunade can…"

He nodded slowly. Sakura set about the unpleasant task.

Wiping her hands on her skirt, she came back to where Kakashi was lying. He looked like he would be comfortable on the mossy ground, if not for the fact that he was spread eagle and utterly vulnerable.

Kakashi wiggled a hand weakly. She gave him her attention as he mussed the moss.

"It smells like almonds."

Her eyes widened. Sakura dropped onto her hands next to Kakashi and took a deep breath. He was right. With the kunai, Sakura wiped it on a nearby patch of grass, and cut up a large part of the nearby moss and sod. She looked at Kakashi with wide eyes as he nodded again. Tucking away the samples into her pack, Sakura slowly helped Kakashi to his feet, and eased him onto her back.

She took off before anyone else could find them.

* * *

Sakura burst into the medical house. Before entering the village gates, she'd spiked her chakra as a message. By the time she shouldered through the door, Yugao and Ko were waiting for them there.

Kakashi's head lolled weakly off her shoulder. Yugao gasped and jumped to them, easing Kakashi off and onto one of the cots in the other room.

"What happened?" Ko asked with a hand on Sakura's arm, as they followed Yugao into the care room. Some of the other patients had woken up and were startled at the mess of blood. Ko smiled placatingly at them.

She shuddered, smoothing her hands roughly through her hair. "Attacked—we must have been tailed. We noticed one of them but the other one took us by surprise. They went straight for Kakashi."

Sakura had to force her hands to stop shaking. The attack had been so sudden. "I'm going to finish healing him," she murmured.

"I'll go get Orika-san," Ko said before leaving the room.

Yugao kept vigil over Sakura. Something about the Sakura's body language told Yugao that she was scared. She stood as tall and alert as she could, determined to help Sakura feel more safe.

Orika rushed in soon, followed by Ko. She took one look at the scene, and her eyes darkened.

* * *

It was nearly dusk when they were done. Kakashi lay asleep in the cot. Ko was standing guard at the foot of the bed. Yugao had returned to the side room to get more sleep for the night shift.

Sakura sat on the floor, leaned weakly against the cot. Orika padded over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, beckoning her to follow her out.

Pulling herself off the wall, she staggered into the main room, self conscious of how ragged she looked, and felt.

"Yugao-san told me most of it." Orika faced Sakura with her thin arms crossed against her chest.

"I apologize. We were supposed to help you and now—" the words tumbled out of Sakura's mouth.

"It's not your fault."

Sakura stopped.

"Men like that, I've seen one of them before. Grey, pallid—" Sakura nodded numbly at Orika's description. "Eyes glazed over. I thought I was hallucinating. I don't know who they are, but they've been around here."

Sakura felt a rushing in her ears. Her mind struggled to put it together. Who was that? And what did they want? Why didn't they have chakra signatures?

"It's not your fault," Orika impressed into her again.

Sakura shook her head tenderly. She was surprised when Orika put a hand on her arm. The first pats were mechanical, but as time went on, Orika gently stroked her arm comfortingly.

Sakura grabbed her hand. The touch brought her focus.

"Orika-san, I think I found the source of the sickness." She looked towards her pack, where the ground sample lay. "There's cyanide in the ground."

* * *

As Kakashi gathered his strength to travel over the following days, Sakura monitored him closely, giving him double the number of checkups a normal patient would get in a hospital. When she wasn't busy trying to ensure her captain's survival, Sakura sat closely with Orika at the kitchen counter and drafted out a plan for detecting and avoiding the poison in the ground.

Yugao and Ko felt anxious too. They carried out continuous 24 hour watches, with Ko and Yugao pulling slightly longer shifts and Sakura filling in.

Much to Kakashi's chagrin, they would also stand directly at his bed, allowing for little privacy.

On the last morning, Sakura popped her head in to the back room. Kakashi was lying on his side, asleep with his cheek on a book. Ko stood tall on the spot, back to Kakashi.

"Ko-san," Sakura whispered, "Breakfast?"

The Hyuuga gave her a small smile and nodded. He followed her into the main room, where she had laid out a few bricks of meal bar.

"Mmmm," she intoned with a laugh. "I prepared these specially for you."

He grinned at her. "Thank you Sakura-san." He picked up a dry bar and sniffed it. "I'll have to try your actual cooking sometime."

She waved, "Don't expect much better."

"How are you feeling?" Ko asked after a bite.

"I'm tired," she admitted with a small tilt of her lips. "It's been a lot of healing, and I'm still a little shaken."

"Understandable. I hope we can get some rest when we get back to Konoha."

"How often between missions, usually?"

He shrugged and gave a sly smile, nodding to the backroom. "Usually depends on the whims of the one in there."

Sakura flitted a playful eye roll. She'd never disrespect Kakashi in front of him, especially not knowing how he felt about her still. But Yugao's blatant rebellion against Kakashi was infectious and made Sakura also want to be ill-behaved.

Ko was watching her with a warm look. Sakura felt herself blush slightly. The Hyuuga was attractive, stately looking with boyish dark hair. The contrast undeniably made her a little girlish around him. He was unflappably polite, and seemingly a true gentleman, through and through.

There was something compelling about him.

Sakura schooled herself to stop daydreaming. Chancing a glance at him, Sakura smiled and stood up. "I'm going to check up on the captain, and we should go good to go back today."

Ko nodded at her with a smile.

Sakura tiptoed into the backroom. With Orika's careful work and Sakura's healing, the other five young villagers had returned to their homes the night before. Kakashi was the last one in the sick bay.

Sakura quietly watched him sleep. He look relaxed, a posture that seemed more comfortable than the aloof slouch he kept at almost all times. He was curled up on himself, and there was a tiny book that he was lightly drooling onto.

She leaned over him. Recalling academy lessons about pickpocketing, Sakura carefully descended her hand and gripped onto the orange cover of the book—

A strong grip seized her hand.

She exclaimed in shock. Kakashi's head twisted to look at her, sharingan blazing.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura stammered, "W-What do you mean? I thought you'd be more comfortable without it."

She shook her hand free, scowling. "Keep it if you want, I'm here to make sure you're fit for the road."

Kakashi eyed her with suspicion, carefully tucking the book under the pillow before sitting up to present himself.

Sakura kept her frown and refused to look at him. _The captain could be so temperamental._ She slipped her hands under his shirt—

"Cold!" He shouted.

Sakura snapped. She quickly pulled her hands back. "Captain. You have to be a grown up, please."

"Is this your usual bedside manner, Haruno?"

"Only for troublemakers like you and Genma," she replied scathingly. This got him to shut up. His eyebrows shot up at being compared to Genma, mouth hung open in disbelief.

Sakura had already resumed her exam, brusquely with her horribly frigid hands, for several minutes before Kakashi spoke again.

"How am I like Genma?"

She opened an eye to regard him. "Well, you're both fussy when sick. Though, Genma seems to flock to the hospital at the first sign of any hurt."

She thought for a bit. "But there's something about that, _I'm strong guy and I'm gruff,_ attitude."

Kakashi took offense. He was so offended he was at a loss for words.

Satisfied at his shocked silence, Sakura hummed to herself. "I will say though, biggest difference is that Genma will stop at nothing to romance me."

She felt the anbu captain stiffen under her touch. Sakura laughed.

* * *

"Team Ro presenting," Kakashi announced from behind his mask. His voice sounded well and strong to Sakura's relief.

Tsunade glanced at them and then went back to studying the documents on her desk. She spoke without looking up.

"How did it go?"

"Successful, shishou," Sakura answered. "The patients had malnutrition, worsened by cyanide in the ground. I left the local medic with triage techniques."

"Where was the cyanide from?"

"Unknown. Recommendation for us to send a poisons specialist over and identify the source."

"Noted."

Tsunade looked up at them, scrutinizing.

"Any injuries?"

"Haruno and I were attacked two hours out of the village, when we were scouting for the groundwater. I was injured, Haruno hauled me to safety."

Sakura blushed a little at the description.

"Who?"

"Unknown. Two unmarked nin."

"Shishou," she stepped forward, unrolling her pack. "The two hostiles—neither the captain nor I could detect their chakra signatures. But they were trained." She hesitated as she pulled out the biopsy sample. "They had the strangest look to them. Glazed eyes, gray skin. Like the bodies in the morgue."

Tsunade sat very still. Sakura wondered if she'd said something that sounded outrageous, clearly to her own ears it sounded insane.

Then the Hokage slowly raised her head and looked straight at Sakura. Her gaze was heavy, and Sakura couldn't entirely read what she was thinking.

"Please leave that with Shizune. I'll take a look," she said quietly. "Dismissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many things going on! I love writing Sakura's relationship with everyone. She's so tender with Yugao, sweet with Ko, and cautious with Kakashi. Thank you for your kind kudos, bookmarks, subscriptions and reviews this week. Especially thanks to Tryals, gkonzen03, faerietell, crestedgeck0, Boke, cerezo, Mrssakurahatake, whiteblossom, cocoablossom for your reviews. I love hearing your thoughts about the story and chatting!
> 
> I would say next week's chapter is genuinely hilarious (funnier than the training scene, I promise), and has one of my favorite monologues of all time. Also some SOLID breakthroughs for kakasaku and kosaku. I can't wait to share.
> 
> Until next week!


	5. The Trial

They were scheduled to go drinking on Saturday. Really, Yugao and Tenzou decided for them. Seeing as they'd just gotten back on Thursday, Sakura took it as an opportunity to check on Kakashi's throat before they started on their weekend evening.

She rapped on his apartment door. In truth, she'd asked him to drop by the hospital during her afternoon shift. He didn't show, which she had expected.

Sakura stretched her shoulders. She'd changed into a thin, off the shoulder black long sleeve. She had a tight enough skirt on.

No sounds from inside. She knocked again.

"Captain!" she called.

A face peered out from the window. He looked put off. "Don't shout," he instructed.

"Wasn't shouting—" she insisted, as the door opened.

He looked down at her. He was casually dressed, his black shirt with a deeply stretched neckline and an old color. Sakura quirked a smile at his unimpressive appearance. At least he looked healthy.

"What?"

Sakura gestured to his neck. "Throat check."

"I'm okay."

"What?" Sakura stared at him.

"I'm fine. Thanks for coming but it's alright."

She sighed. "Captain, getting almost decapitated doesn't fall under 'alright' in any medic's books."

He sighed back and let her pass him in the doorway. Sakura went ahead and seated herself on the small couch he owned, so old and beaten that it sagged to almost touch the floor. Kakashi skirted a far breach around her and dragged over a dining chair. He fell into the chair roughly, legs spread uncouthly, several feet away from Sakura.

He was staring at her outfit. He noted the pretty makeup on her face.

Sakura huffed and cleared her throat. Hands poised out, she gestured. "Captain, you'll have to sit closer than that for me to reach your neck."

He gave her a distrustful look. She stared back in ire.

Slowly, Kakashi dragged his chair forward, and begrudgingly leaned forward. His body was still kept maximally away from her. With the height of the chair, he towered over her smaller form sitting on the low couch. His tall hair fanned over them.

"Honestly, Haruno. Everything about putting my neck in someone's hands goes against my instincts."

Kakashi pulled down his mask pointedly. Sakura squirmed a little.

"Well," she started, trying to be chipper. "If you had better instincts you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

_Fuck._

He gave her a look that did not indicate appreciation. She balmed.

"That wasn't quite what I meant."

"It's fine," he bit out.

They sat in silence.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

Her eyes stayed closed as her hands moved around his throat. It felt warm. He couldn't tell if it was the heat of her chakra or her palms.

"I think what I meant, or why I said that was—I was shocked you got hurt. Still shocked, now."

He studied her face. She was completely calm during this admission.

"Sorry I got taken down during your second ever mission with us," he offered an inch, half under his breath. "I already get enough shit from Yugao. Now you're going to think I'm a half-rate captain."

She paused, wondering to herself if that was a joke. Sakura opened her eyes to read his facial expression. It was impassive—telling her nothing.

Sakura sighed. _What was she supposed to say to that?_

 _She was terrible at this,_ he thought. Kakashi decided to help her along. "You're supposed to blush, deny that I'm not half-rate, and say you've heard about my skills."

Sakura's teeth clenched at the arrogance. Under her breath, she murmured, "Am I supposed to say that as your subordinate? Or as a—"

She stopped herself.

Kakashi stared at her, bemused.

"As what?"

"Nothing, sir."

"No, please," he welcomed with a vicious smile. He felt the head rush of victory.

Sakura had leaned far back at this point and was blanching. Prey had become predator. Kakashi inched forward, deeply encroaching into her personal space.

"Asanyofthewomenaroundthevillagewho—"

Sakura nearly cried.

"Who _what_?" His tone was hard.

"Who may or may not want to get involved with you in a not entirely platonic way," she finished lamely. Her face was burning as she stared at her hands in her lap.

Kakashi scrutinized her.

"As in, you want to—?"

"No!" Sakura shouted, feverishly waving her hands. "No, _no_. As in there are _others_ around this village who—" She groaned loudly. Kakashi had to lean back to not get caught in her frenzy. "Why am I even explaining this to you?"

Kakashi sat without speaking. Sakura frowned deeply. She looked so miserable and upset at having been caught that Kakashi couldn't help but break out into a laugh.

The more he laughed, the more tears seemed to well up in her eyes.

"But then why are you dressed like that, Haruno?"

Her eyes went wide. "What?"

"And a _throat check_ , really?" Kakashi slouched back in his seat, smirking at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard them all. Honestly, I let you in to get you off my case. But—"

Sakura jumped to her feet. She had to tug down her skirt. "Captain," she grit out.

He now leaned back a little further, surprised. She'd gone from looking demure to looking like an angry obaa-san in no time. He got whiplash.

"I don't know what you take me for, but _that_ was not my intention. I'm a _professional_."

She gave him an angry look. "And for the record, you should be too."

His mouth fell open. Kakashi was rooted to the spot as Sakura stalked to the door, notably taking the long way around his small studio, avoiding him as much as possible.

His head was reeling.

"And the only reason why I'm here. Dressed like this at all. Is because we have team drinks. Right now!"

She slammed the front door shut behind her.

Kakashi buried his head in his hands. Icha Icha was giving him brain worms.

* * *

Kakashi showed up nearly two hours late to drinks. He thought he would give Sakura some time to cool off, while also drafting a will and his own eulogy.

By the time he showed up to the bar, his entire team already looked several drinks in. In the booth, in order, sat Yugao, Sakura, Ko, Tenzo and—

Genma.

He damned his team for replacing him with the most cursed jounin in Konoha. Kakashi stiffened at the sight of him. As if his hostility was broadcasted, the sleepy-eyed man seemed to instantly catch sight of Kakashi. Genma whooped in excitement as he spotted him, his beer sloshing onto the table. Yugao shouted at Genma and Sakura laughed as Ko gave his napkin to keep the beer off of her skirt.

Kakashi sighed. He mechanically made his way over, forcing his feet with every step. At exactly three steps away, he switched on a smile. Broad, stupid and unassuming.

Tenzo and Ko both regarded him oddly. Yugao was too busy scowling at Genma, who was delighted that Kakashi was pleased to see them. And Sakura, Sakura had her eyes nailed to the table, refusing to acknowledge him.

"Yo, Hatake." Genma pulled an arm around him, tugging him down to the table. "We were just making bets about who's going to buy Yugao-chan a drink tonight. What's your bet?"

Kakashi sighed deeply. Having been around Genma too often, Kakashi recognized his ways instantly. Genma was vying for Yugao's favor tonight. The man had a type.

"That's absolutely not appropriate for me to comment on."

Sakura rolled her eyes, which did not go unnoticed by Ko.

Genma snorted. "Please, way worse things happen in squads. Kato and Kimura on team two, ring a bell?" He wagged his finger in tune.

Sakura perked up, slamming her palm on the table. "No way!"

Genma grinned, leaning in the center of the table to conspire. He hadn't let go of Kakashi yet, so Kakashi was forced to huddle too. "Yes, believe it."

"Dog!" Sakura whispered.

"I know, where do you think they—?"

Kakashi shoved Genma off of him. He had no idea Sakura also had just a strong a penchant for gossip. Seeing as Genma wouldn't mind, Kakashi grabbed what was left of his beer and downed it.

* * *

Several hours later, the table was littered with glasses. Sakura and Yugao had busted into the sake, Genma was well on his way to getting sick, and Kakashi and Tenzo were in a deep argument about the best style of kunai.

Watching them, Sakura thought it was hard for two men to not fight when they were in the right mood. They were hotly engaged in debate, flippantly throwing around insults and getting close to violence.

Sakura's cheeks felt hot from the drinks. Her shoulders felt great, like the sake had melted away all of the troubles and exhaustion from her first two anbu missions. She also felt a little bit brave.

Ko had somehow stayed by her side the whole night. Seats had been reorganized as people got up to use the restroom, buy more rounds, argue... but somehow he'd been steadily next to her. His hair was freshly combed, and Sakura could smell his aftershave.

Forcing her blush down, Sakura softly cleared her throat, and turned to Ko with a smile.

He calmly smiled back, pulling his beer up for a sip.

"Ko-san," she started unsteadily. Sakura had to school herself into sounding sober. "How long have you been in anbu for?"

He paused but answered, "Two years now." In the back of his mind, he remembered talking about this with her not a few days ago.

"Hm," Sakura sank back into her seat and took a drink.

She perked back up. "What's your favorite thing about it?"

Ko wrinkled his eyes at her. "I like the challenge. Is it my turn to ask you questions now, Sakura-san?"

She smiled shyly.

Ko leaned in just a little bit more. A sweet scent of pine hung between them, and Sakura could see the way his irises were just slightly darker than the whites of his eyes. Sakura couldn't help but take a deep breath of the way he smelled.

* * *

Kakashi smiled to himself triumphantly. He _knew_ that the hiraishin kunai was the superior kunai, for all of the multiple merits he'd already listed. Tenzo sat in silence and Kakashi let his head roll back onto the booth. Victory.

"Hey."

Tenzo shook his arm lightly. The motion made his stomach slosh.

"Kakashi."

The copy nin opened one eye to look at him. Tenzo looked strangely serious, and nodded to their right. Kakashi followed his gaze.

Ko, that sweet bastard, was gently smiling at Sakura. She was telling him some kind of engaging story, judging by the way her delicate hands were wildly gesticulating in the air, and he appeared to be laughing at just the right moments. Her voice carried over to where Tenzo and Kakashi sat, melodic as she kept talking. Sakura's cheeks were tinted a warm pink, her eyes alight with mirth.

At the end of her story, Ko laughed hard, and Sakura gently touched his hand. As if she'd shocked herself into good sense, she quickly drew it back and apologized. Ko shook his head and seemed to tell her it was okay.

Was… it?

As Kakashi turned back to Tenzo, he knew they both looked equally confused. Ko, well-mannered, gentleman, clean-shaven shinobi of the utmost character. They'd never seen him act on a girl before, and Kakashi had not forgotten his declaration a couple weeks back—but who knew he could be so _effective_?

Bastard. Turns out being kind does work.

Genma had noticed their shift in attention. He crawled over Yugao, who shouted at him, and fell into Tenzo and Kakashi's laps. Genma ignored Tenzo. With his hot breath, alcoholic and acidic, Genma went straight for Kakashi.

"Yo, Hatake."

Kakashi regarded him with a quick glance but otherwise went back to watching Ko work his goddamn magic on Sakura. Something he was saying was making her laugh so hard that her lips had turned a pink that reminded Kakashi of candy and her neck looked extra smooth and—

"Hatake, you're staring."

Kakashi snapped to attention. He glowered at Genma, who was intimately close.

The man whispered in his ear. " _What's the harm of having a little fun?_ "

Ko stood up and offered Sakura a hand. She missed his hand a few times as she tried to reach for it, before finally getting to her feet. She swayed lightly but kept her bright smile.

Kakashi heard her voice over the sound of the bar.

"Remember on the way to Ame," Sakura laughed at what she was about to say next. "How you called me your—"

Kakashi slammed his hand down on the table. Some empty glasses toppled over. Tenzo sat stock still. Genma started laughing hysterically. Yugao was looking at him just as scornfully as ever. A small hush fell over their corner of the establishment.

Ko had raised a curious eyebrow at him. The look alone made something in Kakashi burn. Kakashi's eyes darted to Sakura's hand, held in the Hyuuga's.

"All of you. Training ground fifteen, tomorrow morning at eight." Kakashi barked. He slipped easily into his commander voice.

They looked at him in disbelief.

Kakashi rose to his full height. He stared each and every one of them in the eye. Yugao glared back reproachfully.

"Haruno!" He snapped. Her back went rod straight. She dropped her hand from Ko's. Kakashi jerked his head for her to follow, and left the bar with long strides.

Sakura scrambled after him, bewildered.

Ko stayed standing at the table, watching them leave. His head was tilted, notably confused. Genma swayed up to him, draping a hand over his shoulder and down his chest. "Ko-kun, what's your move?"

Tenzo let out a muffled groan into his hands.

* * *

"Captain!" Sakura shouted after him. She stumbled a little on the cobblestone.

Kakashi didn't slow. Sakura half suspected he was actually speeding up. _And where was he going?_ He didn't live in this direction.

Sakura had to sprint three steps to catch up to him, grabbing onto his loose shirt sleeve. This was becoming ridiculous, thought Sakura. What was the point of calling her if he was just going to evade her. If he ran off one more time, she was going to leave him, even if he fell into a ditch or got his throat slashed again.

He kept his back straight, looking straight over her head. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to catch his eye. " _What's wrong, captain?_ " She pleaded.

The sound of her coaxing made his heart palpitate. This was dangerous. Kakashi thought he had suddenly had too much to drink.

His mouth felt very dry. He looked down at her hand around his arm. He had to keep moving.

Kakashi started walking again, plowing down the street. He wasn't slowed at all, defying the drag of Sakura's grip on him.

"Where are you even going?" She shouted at him.

"I'm walking you home."

She stopped altogether, and stumbled as his arm pulled out of her grip. She gave him a beseeching look.

"I can walk home on my own," Sakura said quietly. Her tone was low.

He stared at the top of her head. "Ko was going to walk you home, now I will."

"That's nice of you—" she huffed a few steps, "But this seems to be about more than that."

The streets were empty. It was early into the morning, the hours whiled by in the bar. The air was slightly cold as fall had set in. Sakura stared at his back, his thin shirt, and his tall hair, blowing in the wind.

"Captain. I want to know what this is about."

Kakashi stood still, a few meters down. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, back curved in a painfully relaxed slouch. Sakura dragged her fingers through her hair in frustration. A small anger rose in her chest. She was a top medic. Multiple teams had vied for her placement. She'd saved his life not days ago.

She strode up to him. An electricity ran through her limbs as she pumped them. Sakura dug her heels in as she stopped directly in front of him. He quickly turned his head to the left, impassively looking over Sakura's shoulder.

She glowered up at Kakashi.

"Hatake-san. I don't fully know what you think about me," she shook her head roughly. "But it's clear that my presence on this team is not what you want. Tsunade gave me an option to do a trial run, I think we can safely consider the trial to be over. I will let her know and will recommend another excellent medic for placement on your team."

Sakura forced herself to take several angry breaths. The blood rushed in her ears.

"What?" Kakashi's soft voice came through the noise.

" _I said_ , I will help you find a different medic to replace me."

"That's not what I want."

She rolled her eyes so hard that, combined with the alcohol, made her feel like she might keel over. "Yes, Hatake-san. I know. I am not your old medic. Unfortunately, until she returns from her travels, it sounds like you need someone else—"

Kakashi shook his head, "I never told you about Rin."

"Yugao told me."

He sighed. Sakura was exhausted. Why was this so hard to understand for him? Clearly this anbu captain had missed a few chapters in normal development. Thinking back to his accusations from earlier that afternoon, Sakura briefly saw red again.

Then he spoke. "Haruno-san," his voice was quiet. "I… apologize. I did not intend to make you feel unwelcome on the team."

Sakura's anger shored up at the apology. "Thankfully, it was just you," she admitted.

He grimaced at what she'd said. "Your healing skills are unparalleled. Tsunade made a great recommendation."

She looked at him strangely. The gears turned in Sakura's head. Was this his way of letting her go gently? Honestly, early team placements were meant to be transactional. Everything was a trial. It made sense that some personalities wouldn't work out together.

He continued, "—I've had too much to drink tonight. I apologize. I'd like to keep you on the team if you would accept my apology. There is no better medic."

Sakura took a step back. Kakashi had straightened, standing proper in front of her. He looked at her fully, meeting her gaze calmly. His eyes had no sign of ire or cajole in them. He seemed genuine, and a little bit repentant.

They regarded each other for a long minute.

Finally, Kakashi spoke again. "I can walk you home still, or you can…"

"I can get myself home."

Sakura gave him a long stare before nodding. He inclined his head back and watched her walk off.

"Have a good night, Haruno. I'll see you tomorrow for training."

* * *

Kakashi's stomach twisted. He watched Sakura walk away until she'd passed out of sight, turning onto a different street. Even after she left, he stayed rooted to the spot. Was this his way of publicly shaming himself?

Kakashi snorted. He might have already done enough of that at the bar. What was that? He rarely ever pulled rank, especially not with those clowns. But there was something about seeing Ko cozy up to Sakura that didn't sit well with him. And unfortunately, he'd taken it out on Sakura, who he'd apparently pushed too far already.

He reprimanded himself. What he should have really done was go after Ko. The Hyuuga had a thick skin and a taste for getting his ass beaten.

Kakashi turned and headed in the direction of his own apartment. What was that Sakura had said about Rin? She was no replacement? His thoughts felt muddled, and Kakashi frustratingly tried to sort through the different ways that he felt about Rin, then Sakura.

He cursed Genma for incepting a variety of bastard ideas into his mind. Several of his wires felt crossed.

_Rin was somewhere far away._

He let his mind drift.

_Sakura was right here._

Kakashi kicked at a can. That wasn't meant to be the next thought. He shouldered into his apartment and fell into bed.

* * *

Yugao had met Sakura at her house. In the chilly fall morning, they slowly made their way over to the training grounds. Sakura wore a thick sweater over her usual uniform. Yugao sipped at the thermos of tea Sakura had prepared, and handed it back.

"So what was that?"

Yugao was asking about last night. She sounded genuinely confused.

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. This is new to me."

"To me too," Yugao scoffed softly. "I've never seen Kakashi do that."

Sakura considered what she meant. There were lots of things Kakashi had done last night, including drink heavily, bicker with Tenzo, pull his rank, make her deeply upset—

"Act like a tyrant?" Sakura offered.

Yugao shook her head, "Act possessive."

Sakura waved her hand dismissively. She made a confession. "I said something I shouldn't have. It was after I followed him out, he said he was walking me home but wouldn't tell me why—and I blurted out that I felt unwelcome and that I knew I wasn't a replacement for Rin."

"What?" Yugao grabbed onto her hand. Sakura startled a little bit. "You mentioned Rin?"

Sakura slowly nodded, waiting for her to continue. They were standing on a small bridge that led to the training areas. A breeze blew through and she shivered.

"Remember how I told you Kakashi was a huge asshole when she left? _Nobody_ talks about her. Not because we didn't like her, just that he totally shuts down."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and tried to recall how he had behaved the night before. With how tired she was, and the drinks, she couldn't remember clearly anymore. Certainly, nothing deserving of this reaction.

She tugged Yugao along the path, wrapping their arms together. "Well… is he touchy about anyone else?"

Yugao thought for a while, searching her brain through the hangover. "Their genin team had another member. An Uchiha. _Never_ talks about him."

"Gone?"

"Yeah."

"We rarely talk about sensei or Yosuke-kun," Sakura reminded her. Yugao nodded. "Plus, I was talking to him in a professional capacity. I'm a medic, _filling in_ for her as a medic."

Yugao considered it. She took the thermos from Sakura. "Also, you feel unwelcome?"

"It's just him. He apologized."

Yugao raised an eyebrow at her.

* * *

Ko was already at the training grounds when they arrived. He politely greeted them both, and lingered on Sakura, a glint of something like humor in his eyes. She blushed and looked away. Evidently, he'd not forgotten about the whole scene from last night. Yugao grumbled to wake her when Kakashi showed up, and left to slouch against a tree.

"How did you sleep, Sakura-san?"

She laughed. "Not much. But well—I sleep like a log after I drink."

He raised his eyebrows at this piece of information and chuckled.

"You got home alright?"

She emphasized, " _By myself_. I appreciated your offer though."

A strange look flitted across his face. "An offer made, not fulfilled, is—"

"—Good enough," Sakura finished for him with a smile. "I'll have to repay you sometime."

Tenzo arrived shortly. He gave them both a warm greeting, although there was a hint of a blush in his expression. Sakura sighed internally. There was clearly something hanging in the air. The four of them settled down and waited for Kakashi to arrive.

* * *

Like any training session called in the heat of a drunken argument, it was equal parts pathetic and brutal.

Kakashi had some kind of agenda that morning as he announced that it was every man for himself. The first thing he seemed to do was run off, to the confusion of his team, until they heard the screams of Genma in the next training ground over.

Then he seem to go after Tenzo, who was engaged with Yugao. The kunoichi was pleased at the chance to royally defeat Tenzo, and gleefully dove into the act with Kakashi's help. But the moment that Tenzo had shouted for a truce, Kakashi had whirled on her.

Sakura had the chilling feeling of being hunted. She and Ko only traded half hearted hits as they waited with baited breath for their turn. Soon, they detected Kakashi's rapidly approaching signature.

Ko spared her only one glance before shoving her away. "Go—!" he commanded, whirling to face Kakashi in a gentle fist stance. Sakura fled into the tree line and hoped she made herself invisible enough to not attract the attention of the silver haired demon plaguing training ground fifteen.

Kakashi looked haggard. It was not without cost that he took down the other two anbu and one jounin. He nursed a large gouge on his right side, and seemed to be favoring his left foot. It looked like he was fighting for his life, which was terrifying in the context of the infamous copy nin.

The psychological aspect of it was bad enough.

The _shhhlick_ sound of his oiled tanto pulling out of its sheath made Sakura blanch. Ko was still holding his own, and had disabled one of Kakashi's chakra pathways. Unfortunately, it looked like the man was going for something else.

Kakashi rushed at him with great speed, slipping past many gentle fists until he eventually slammed his shoulder into Ko's chest, knocking the man onto the ground. Before Ko could jump to his feet, Kakashi leapt onto him and sunk the tanto deep into the ground next to Ko's head.

The two men regarded each other with heavy breaths, faces inches away.

Then Kakashi laughed and eased up, offering Ko a hand up. Making sure the Hyuuga was alright, Kakashi noted to the taste of the air, "One more."

He looked at Ko to make sure he wouldn't interfere. The man held up his hands in truce.

Kakashi shot straight in Sakura's direction. Her heart pounded furiously in her ribcage and she ducked behind the tree for only a second to gather her thoughts before spinning out and preparing for a hit—

That never came.

Kakashi came to an abrupt stop, meters short of her. Sakura's nerves went insane as she analyzed what his next step would be, whether he was faking out on her.

And then he sheathed his tanto. He brought his feet together to stand casually. And he nodded at her.

"Haruno."

Sakura balked at him. "Captain…"

"Did you get home alright?"

She nodded dumbly.

"Good to hear." He tenderly shifted from his left foot onto his right. He shrugged. "Feel like doing some healing?"

"Yes, but—" A million things. "Well, I think you didn't get the brunt of the injuries."

"I know, I inflicted them." Sakura could have sworn he sounded smug. She slowly circled to move past him, eyes trained on him at the slightest sign of hostile movement.

"Yes, so you'll have to wait. I might go see Genma first, he sounded—"

His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. "You can heal everyone other than Shiranui. I'll wait."

* * *

They went on a B-rank mission a day later. Sakura welcomed the slight change in pace compared to the first two missions, which seemed to have a variety of unexpected aspects. Sakura struggled with several things, ranging from how backbreaking the pace of anbu was, to the shocking violence of their second mission and how easily Kakashi got hurt, to maintaining a professional relationship with him. One that she hoped could eventually be friendly.

Sakura was a soft heart. Secretly, she dreamt of the type of relationship that genin teams that stayed together had. Where years of growing up together made you deeply attuned to the thoughts of the other people, and it was like having another family.

Sakura had that with Tsunade and Shizune, to a degree. But fate had led her to anbu and she would be damned if she couldn't get the same friendships from the people she spent nearly half her waking hours with.

In a deep part of her mind, reason quietly also reminded her that anbu had the highest turnover rate of any division. Dangerous missions and stacking mental and physical scars led to deep unwellness among old anbu. Sakura saw the ones who were left frequently at the hospital.

If even their sensei and Yosuke could get accidentally get killed on a C-rank, then anbu—

Sakura grimaced.

On the mission, Kakashi had been mostly impartial to Sakura. Thought she still felt like a loaner medic in front of her captain, like someone borrowed for just a mission or two, he was no longer as sharp with her as he had been. He seemed more inclined to make eye contact with her. And there were chance moments where Sakura felt like they were getting to know more about each other, even if it was as little as how to speak to one another.

Sakura was grateful that the third permanent feature on their team was someone as level-headed as Tenzo. The man was unflappable, forgiving of Kakashi's moods, and helped Sakura see how the silver haired nin liked to be dealt with. He seemed like a genuine friend to the copy nin.

A question that Sakura had been afraid to ask Kakashi, although was on her mind frequently, was whether he'd gotten mad at her for getting friendly with Ko. As shinobi, especially adults, relationships were accepted on teams. And less defined relations were exceptionally frequent.

It embarassed Sakura to think about it. She didn't want to be defined by her sexuality. She would never describe herself as anything to do with that. And she didn't want her captain to think she'd joined the team just to catch a handsome, kind and sweet Hyuuga.

She cringed thinking about the 'throat check' incident. Unfortunately, it already seemed like the captain had pegged her for a type.

The gates of Konoha came into view. Sakura stretched her hands over her head appreciatively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update this time! It's because I realized I would be away for the weekend, through Sunday. Thank you to everyone who gave kudos, followed and left comments. Especially big thanks to Resa_Gabrielle, Akkie, guest-san, cerezo, and crestedgecko for your reviews. You know I appreciate and reply to each one, sometimes too much lol.
> 
> Oh, and recently I found a fic I really loved. If you're into BAMF Sakura, this will be great for you. The Sun Goes With You by Cloverhoney. Go check it out and tell me what you think!
> 
> Leave me your thoughts! I loved writing this grounded in Konoha vignette. Things seem to be getting into motion with Sakura and Kakashi!


	6. A Good Team

Sakura quietly stepped into the records room. It smelled of paper and lightly of cigarettes. Around the room, there were a few desks with table lamps and writing supplies. Nin could choose to come here after missions to fill out their mission reports. It was a no-smoking room, but who would tell them otherwise?

“Hello Hideo-san,” she greeted the clerk.

Bespectacled, with a friendly face, the older man greeted Sakura happily. She was a friendly face and much kinder than the other shinobi who would frequent his purview.

“I’m looking for a mission file for a recent trip to Kasugai-mura. Maybe two weeks ago.” She thought about what other details she could provide. “Team Ro.”

Hideo startled a little. “Of course,” he said nervously. Sakura wondered what was wrong.

“Well, Hatake-san actually has the entire file. I’m sure you can ask him for it.”

He gestured towards the furtherest corner of the room. Kakashi’s brush of hair could be seen above the piles. 

Kakashi must have heard them speaking but chose not to look up until she was standing right in front of him. The situation reminded her all too much of when they had first met. Sakura stepped from foot to foot, and gave him a small smile.

“Hey, captain. Looks like you’re here for the same thing.”

He nodded and made room for her at the desk. Kakashi pulled the specific document he was reading but pushed the rest towards her.

“Yeah. There’s something about the Kasugai-mura that doesn’t sit well with me,” he murmured, rubbing his head. “Any word from Tsunade about that biopsy? Or the source of the cyanide?”

“No,” Sakura intoned, picking up Kakashi’s personal mission report. They fell into silence as they focused. Sakura slowly relived the details of the trip from his perspective. She shivered at the parts about the attack. 

Although she hadn’t let on, especially not when she was stitching his throat together under her fingertips, Sakura was deeply shaken by the attack. Kakashi, one of the village’s top shinobi, had been laid flat in seconds.

She read what Kakashi had written.

_I lay on the ground while Haruno disabled the last attacking hostile. I had trouble breathing due to the cuts to my neck, and was in danger of losing consciousness. I was unable to assist her but Haruno succeeded and came back. I had pulled some of the threads out of my wound, but she successfully removed the rest of them._

_Haruno was very effective. Despite her chakra levels spiking, I assume in anxiety, her hands stayed calm and the healing chakra I felt was even. She also actively surveilled the environment, anticipating another attack._

Sakura sighed a little. Kakashi looked up from what he was reading and gave her a curious look.

“So you noticed,” she smiled, pointing at the line about her anxiety. 

He nodded. “Hard not to, you were chalk white. It was like you were the one who got—“

“No more, just talking about it makes me nervous.”

He studied her quietly. Sakura felt compelled to explain herself. It was also true that this had been on her mind for a while, and she wanted someone to talk to. She just didn’t expect it to be Kakashi.

“Captain, it’s that—I don’t know how the two of us didn’t notice the second hostile. And the way he took you down instantly,” she ran a hand through her hair. “I see plenty of anbu come through the hospital, _but are all missions just near misses with death?_ ”

Kakashi paused. He was surprised at how revealing her question was. From her nervous body language, and the content of her question, Sakura seemed afraid. And she was asking him about it. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had admitted fear to him. There seemed to be things kept from him as he became a more and more respected captain.

He also found that he didn’t have a straight answer. Not all of missions were, but a mistake or ambush could cost anybody their life. It was unfortunate that one of her first missions was one where she had to witness her captain get his feet swept out from under him. 

Kakashi had been frustrated enough with himself after that mission, and this was his third time reading through the files for an answer. He eagerly awaited the biopsy results from Tsunade.

He couldn’t give her an answer but at least he could figure out what was bothering her. 

“What are you afraid of, Haruno?” He frowned. “Dying, danger?”

Sakura had a look on her face. “For myself? Sure.” She admitted easily. “But also for you, Yugao, Tenzo and Ko-san. Death is hard on everyone around the deceased. There are so many great nin injured not by their own bodies but from the trauma of their loved ones dying.”

Kakashi wondered if she was talking about him. Or herself.

“If I can be honest,” Sakura continued. “You, as our captain, are a representation of any of us. The best of us. And seeing you on the ground—“ She gestured in the air, but didn’t finish the thought.

He understood now.

Kakashi considered what he was going to say, picking his words carefully. “Not all anbu missions are death sentences. Those that are, are clearly marked. But all anbu missions are dangerous. And with any danger, there is a possibility that someone gets hurt.”

He tried to convey to her that it was an unusual occurrence for him to get dragged to death’s door, and that it was unlikely to happen again in the peacetimes they were having. But Kakashi felt it would be deeply unfair if he promised such a thing.

She pressed on, “And with that possibility—does that scare you? The thought of your friends and loved ones…”

In her heart of hearts, Sakura didn’t know if she could stomach being in anbu. She knew that she would have left if Kakashi had died. The last time her teammates had passed from a mission, Sakura left Konoha for two years, unable to cope with the idea of getting a new team and just _moving on_. The people were gone, how could you move on?

She knew Yugao, her soul’s sister, had coped in the opposite way. Yugao became fleeting to everyone who didn’t already know her. She was unavailable for friendships or love. She joined multiple anbu teams, put herself in the most dangerous, not tethered to anyone.

But Sakura couldn’t do that. She always grew roots wherever she was. It was what made life, missions, anything—rewarding for her.

Kakashi’s mouth felt dry.

Sakura was looking deeply at him. Kakashi would have usually looked away, at the blinding light of a stare so intense and searching. But he felt a sense of duty to answer all of her questions. He was her first anbu captain

Somebody would have to tell her the truth, like his first captain had done for him and demonstrated to him. For someone so exceptionally skilled, she was green to the realities of being a shinobi. Or—for someone so exceptionally skilled, she was shockingly still of a tender, porous heart.

“A good team is what determines survival,” Kakashi began.

“In the forest that day, without you, I would have died. With you, because of your care, I didn’t.”

He leveled her a look, calm and honest.

“It’s these relationships that make survival possible. It’s the same relationships that make surviving painful.”

They shared an understanding.

Sakura smiled, swiping away a small tear. “Thank you.”

* * *

“Captain!” Sakura greeted from afar. They’d spotted each other while out Sunday shopping. Kakashi had told the squad that their next mission wasn’t until Wednesday, enough time to have at least a few home cooked meals.

Kakashi turned to the sound of his name. Seeing Sakura, he made his way through the crowd, “Hey.”

“Getting a few things?” she asked, gesturing to the slim bag that hung loosely off his wrist. His other hand was shoved in his pocket, holding a fistful of loose bills.

“Yeah. You too?”

Sakura smiled, bashful at the number of bags she had with her. The width of her person was easily doubled by the mass of shopping she’d done. “I love cooking at home when I can find the time. It’s healthier, cheaper, tons of things.”

Kakashi nodded along, although had trouble sympathizing. His thankfully opaque bag held the latest version of the Icha Icha series, although he would be the last to tell the cute new member of his anbu team as much. It was unbecoming of him as a captain.

“Headed in this direction?” Sakura inclined her head, and he nodded.

“That’s a lot of food for just you.”

“It’s not just for me,” she smiled at him.

“Oh?” Kakashi shot her a casual glance. He paused, then smoothly continued, “Who’s all that for then?”

Sakura stopped for half a step, wondering if that was meant to sound as suspicious as it did. The question came out stilted and weird, a little warbled at the end. Was he trying to find out if she was involved with Ko-san again?

“My younger brother, his name is Kyuta. His appetite is unparalleled. And honestly I have to cook because if I had to treat him to eat out every time, I’d have joined anbu a long time ago.”

Some dark, withered part of Kakashi’s terrible soul had a flutter of life. The anbu captain chewed enthusiastically on this new information. He only let on through a small smile. “Maa, he must be a teenager.”

“He just turned 17 this year—chunnin.” Sakura seemed especially pleased telling him this. He noticed her chest puffing out, her smile lifting.

Kakashi seemed to think about this for a bit, before quietly asking, “Would you want him to advance soon?”

She shook her head again. “No, of course not. What kind of an onee-san would I be if I did?” Sakura paused for a bit before adding, “But he worries about me in the same way that I worry about him. Joining anbu especially, he put up a huge fight.”

Kakashi smiled a little at the thought. “Maybe I’ll have to meet him to convince him of your placement.”

She laughed, “Please don’t. You’ll only rile him up.”

“What kind of world do we live in,” Kakashi mused, “if an anbu captain is afraid of a chunin?”

“The right world—it’s more to protect him _from you_ ,” she said in amusement.

She was surprised at how her captain was having this conversation with her, but also thankful for it. It must be hard for him to feel like he was replacing a friend, but Sakura was determined to earn her way.

“This is me,” she announced. Sakura hauled some of the bags to balance up on her hip, while fishing around in my pockets for keys. “I’d invite you in for tea but it’s a mess. Kyuta just threw a party—“ she shook her head, as if that was all there was to say.

Kakashi nodded. “Good luck with that boy. Better keep him away from me.” The last bit was said as a joke, and he gave a small grin to go with it before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Sakura looked at the spot he’d disappeared from and smiled to herself.

* * *

“I’m home!” Sakura shouted into the house, closing the front door with her foot. She juggled the various bags and weaved around the misplaced furniture before she got to the kitchen.

“Kyuta,” she called.

Like any good sister, Sakura felt it pertinent that she knew where her younger brother was at all times. Thankfully, he was a patient boy and was good about the things his sister was neurotic about.

He popped out of his bedroom, spry and gangly as he stumbled bleary-eyed into the kitchen. Sakura surveyed him with a careful glance. His spiky brown hair was mussed every which way, and his bright green eyes were crusted over with sleep, rimmed with dark circles. They must have stayed up late. 

“Nee-chan,” he greeted with a yawn. 

The teen gave her a dopey grin and immediately turned his attention to the bags on the counter. Sakura laughed at how much he resembled a very tall, long raccoon.

“Who were you talking to outside?” He asked with another yawn.

“That was Kakashi, my captain. You heard him talking?”

Kyuta nodded, stuffing half an onigiri into his mouth.

Sakura shook her head at him. _Appetite like a bear, docile like a lamb. S_ he squeezed his hand quickly before moving to put the rest of the groceries away. “How was the party?”

She sensed some excitement from him. “It was great!” Kyuta nodded enthusiastically. “Tons of people showed up—“

She glanced at him.

“I mean not too many. And we had just a liiiittle bit of sake.” He pinched his fingers together and smiled at her guiltily.

Sakura laughed and hung her head in defeat. She could smell the faint hint of alcohol on his breath anyways. “I don’t believe you. Why’d it have to be in our house anyways?”

“Well,” Kyuta intoned like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “How is it supposed to be a surprise for Moegi-chan if it’s at her house?”

* * *

Their fourth mission came too soon.

Snow billowed around them, the wind strong enough to sway Sakura on her feet. She sent chakra to the ground, anchoring her to the icy sleet that covered the road as they trudged forward. A balmy fall in fire country had turned into the beginning of winter in Snow.

Sakura was dressed in knee high boots, a thick lycra long sleeve under her anbu vest, and a heavy winter cloak that she clipped all the way shut. Her mask thankfully kept much of the ice and hale off of her face, but her breath kept freezing and encasing the inside of the mask with snow. It was misery.

Kakashi trudged in front of the group. On either side of Sakura walked Ko and Tenzou. Where they would usually use umbrellas, the wind was too strong for that. They endured the punishing weather in silence.

Up ahead, in the mist of snow, Sakura could see a magnificent western-style mansion. They passed through an iron-wrought gate first, then a garden of rose bushes, in suspended animation in the freezing weather. Finally the reached the entrance of the home itself.

A resilient flame glowed by the entryway, lighting the door. There was a generous entry area, which the anbu team quickly huddled into for warmth.

Kakashi, brave as he was, was the one to ring the doorbell.

A butler, dressed in full formal wear and to the nines, opened the door in less than a minute. Kakashi, in his fiercely painted dog mask, regarded the man warily. The butler, bald and proper, gave him a look of equal ire.

“You must be the hired guards.”

Sakura could see Kakashi stiffen under all the layers. His ears quirked a bit.

The butler stuck his head out into the cold and eyed the rest of them, huddled on the corner of the porch.

“Please come in,” he gestured inwards with a deep bow that was unflappably meant for polite company. The followed him inwards to a lavish study, of fine velvet upholstery and a live fireplace.

“The mistress will be with you in a second.”

The four nin regarded each other from behind their masks. The heat of the room was glorious, almost too much for how much they had on. One by one, they peeled off their cloaks and stood uncomfortably as the ice started to melt off of their bodies, dripping onto the richly colored carpet.

A separate door opened. They all stood to attention.

“Well,” a laugh rang out. The mistress slinked into the room. Sakura studied the woman from behind her mask. She was in her early thirties, with coal black hair and eyes. A smudge of makeup from the day hovered around her cheeks, and a shock of red lipstick. She wore an expensive looking red dress.

It wasn’t what Sakura would have chosen for house-wear.

The woman perched herself on one of the arms of the couch. She faced them. They stood impassively in a tall line.

She cocked her head and laughed. “Hello. Welcome. My name is Futaha Miyamizu.”

Kakashi greeted her politely. The rest of them bowed slightly.

She gave him a smile, and regarded him with narrowed eyes.

“Welcome to Snow. Since you’ll be escorting me for the next week, we may as well get to know each other. Now that you know my name, I should know yours.”

Kakashi didn’t move. The other three watched him from the corner of his eye for a decision. Finally, after a long period of deliberation, Kakashi reached up and pulled down his mask. In a line, Tenzo, Sakura and Ko did the same. Sakura was glad that she had pulled on henge before entering. Her hair was disguised to an uneventful brown.

Futaha delighted, smiling at each of them in turn and looking them over. There were notes of judgement as she looked at them.

“Names?”

“We can’t share that with you.”

She quirked a sharp smile. “Of course not.” Her eyes flickered from Kakashi to Ko, and then regarded Sakura for only a second. Sakura thought she could see a hint of interest in her eyes when looking at the men, and something akin to judgement at seeing Sakura.

She shrugged. “Well, as it’s late tonight, please be my guest. We’ll head out tomorrow morning.”

* * *

The next morning, they met Futaha at the break of dawn. Their masks were already in place when she appeared from the same doorway. Following her outside, Sakura forced her body to stay still as the chill instantly seized around her limbs.

Futaha quickly stepped into a small carriage that was waiting for her. She gave the team a small, knowing smile before shutting the door.

Sakura finally allowed herself to shudder once the woman was no longer watching them.

Kakashi glanced at the rest of them. “Diamond formation. I’ll go in front. Ko in the back.”

* * *

The chill was tough to fight against. Sakura felt herself fatigue quickly into the day, the sun barely in the sky before she started to feel a drag of exhaustion. It was the combination of the blinding snow and the impossible ice underfoot that made this a harder journey than she would ever admit. Not to mention they were keeping pace against a small team of horses that pulled the carriage along.

Up ahead, Kakashi looked unperturbed. He moved with all of his usual grace, a speckle of gray against the otherwise fully white landscape. Sakura couldn’t see Tenzo on the other side of the carriage body, but she could feel Ko’s eyes on her back on occasion.

They were lucky to have a strong team with two long distance scouts. As much as she wanted to deny it, was a well balanced team, and the role of Yugao and Ko as auxiliary members made it possible to personalize the staffing for any scenario.

A tapping noise drew Sakura’s attention. Futaha’s wide, beautiful face peered back at her through the clear glass of the carriage.

Sakura raised an eyebrow behind her mask as Futaha rolled the window down.

“Hello,” she breathed. “How are you?”

Sakura couldn’t figure out what the point of this conversation was, but also couldn’t think of anything polite to say in order to end it. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi sending glances back. She raised a low hand below Futaha’s sight to signal that it was alright.

“It’s cold,” Sakura stated simply. Polite to a fault, she couldn’t help but add on, “How are you?”

Futaha delighted at the small talk. She purred. “I’m well. I’m wondering, where is your friend with the white eyes?”

Ko. Sakura’s eyebrows went up even higher. She wondered if the Hyuuga could hear their conversation from his position in the back.

“He’s trailing the carriage.”

“That so?” she drawled, tapping a long fingernail on the side of the carriage as she leaned out of it calmly. She paused as she thought.

“Well, can he come up here?”

Sakura chose her words carefully. “He can go up to the front of the carriage instead.”

“What about the gray haired one?”

“They could switch spots.”

The woman snorted in amusement.

“The brown haired one is on the other side of the carriage,” Sakura offered, unable to keep the slight sound of irritation out of her voice. She hoped Futaha would rather speak to Tenzo. The woman’s judging gaze and sharp red lips unnerved her.

Futaha shrugged, waving her hand as if to say, _not my type_. They continued to travel. The woman from Snow seemed to be unaffected by the cold temperatures, and stayed leaning out of her window. Sakura was stressed by the level of exposure that Futaha had, but wasn’t convinced that she’d be able to coax the woman back in.

Futaha cycled from looking at the landscape, to trying to catch a peek of Ko in the back, to studying her nails, to finally staring at Sakura. The kunoichi tried to keep her express still, even under the anonymity of her mask.

“Do you…” Futaha began, drawing out her words. “Enjoy being on a team with these men?”

“What does that mean?”

“As in, do you feel _sexy_ being the only woman on a team of all men?”

Sakura felt acutely aware of several pairs of eyes on her. Apparently, they were _all_ able to hear them. A deep blush threatened to crawl up her neck but Sakura forced it down.

“That’s not what I value about myself, Miyamizu-san.”

The heiress considered that answer. With a small _hmph_ , she fell back into the carriage and shut the glass window. Sakura let out a breath of relief.

* * *

By the end of the day, Sakura felt like her legs were made of lead. She now understood why anbu were needed for this mission—the heiress’ insist ence on traveling by carriage meant they had to keep an insane speed, running alongside her in the unforgiving landscape. 

Futaha checked them into a hotel in a small village. She must have planned the stop ahead of time, for it was much nicer than any regular inn. Though small in size, it was clear the hotel catered to a high class clientele. Kakashi and Tenzo would take the first watches, then Ko and finally Sakura.

Trudging to the room she shared with the Hyuuga, Sakura was grateful for the last watch, arguably the most desirable one. It allowed her to get a several hours of uninterrupted sleep before getting up slightly earlier than everyone else to take watch.

“How are you feeling, Sakura-san?” Ko asked her as they went in.

Sakura smiled at him and fell onto one of the beds, splayed eagle. “I feel like a solid block of ice, Ko-san.” She sat up on her elbows. “Or like an uncouth peasant, next to Futaha Miyamizu.”

He laughed, clipping his cloak off. “I heard her question.”

Sakura tilted her head back in embarrassment.

“Your answer was diplomatic.”

“How would you have answered?” She challenged him, her smile evident in her voice.

Ko sat on the bed across from hers. His elbows rested on his knees as he smiled amiably at her. “Well,” he considered thoughtfully. “Being on a team with just one woman like you makes me feel something. I can’t imagine if I was the only male on a team of all women like you.”

Sakura’s eyes went wide, her smile dropped. She quickly rolled onto her side and stared at Ko with saucer eyes. _Did he just—?_

He looked worried at her reaction.“Was that too forward?”

She quickly waved her hand, shaking her head at the same time. A deep blush had crept up her neck, dispelling the chill that was previously there. “No, I’m sorry. Just surprised.”

He smiled warmly at her and left for the shower.

When the door closed, Sakura collapsed back onto her bed. Her face felt pleasantly warm.

* * *

When Sakura woke up the next morning, it was well past the time for her watch. She startled up in bed, quickly searching the room for Ko. His mask and gear were nowhere to be seen, presumably worn, but his travel pack was still in the corner.

Sakura quickly got ready and headed for Miyamizu’s suite on the next floor. There was nobody posted outside, where they had agreed to keep watch. There should have been somebody posted there.

Sakura instantly pulled out her kunai. She skirted down the long hallway, nerves standing on end as she prepared to engage—

And then the door opened. Ko, in his mask, stepped out, gesturing to Sakura.

She sighed in relief. He slowly closed the door and met her in the middle of the hall.

“I apologize. I meant to wake you for your shift but Miyamizu-san…” He paused, searching for words, “was very _attached_ to my being here, and I figured I’d let you sleep in.”

Sakura shook her head at the ridiculousness of it. Still, she had to give Futaha credit. The woman was determined.

“Debrief?”

They headed for Kakashi and Tenzo’s room.

* * *

“Captain, the client is ready for travel,” Ko announced as they entered the room.

Kakashi acknowledged with a nod as he slipped his anbu vest over his head. Tenzo was tightening the final straps on his pack.

“Did she give you any trouble, Hyuuga?”

Ko paused. “Define trouble, captain.”

Kakashi’s mask was on his bed. His expression was clear as he made eye contact with Ko, bone dry and unamused. “She cried and threatened all types of antics to try to get me to extend my watch shift.”

Tenzo snorted from his side of the room, Sakura couldn’t help but also break into a grin.

“She did do that—yes.”

Kakashi made a noise to himself and clipped on his mask. He swept his eyes around the room one more time. He moved towards them but paused.

“Wait, don’t tell me you gave in?”

“Well, I took over Sakura-san’s shift,” Ko answered evenly.

Tenzo had a smirk on his face. “A kindness Kakashi wouldn’t do for me, despite all of Miyamizu’s wheedling.”

Kakashi glared back at Tenzo, heat evident even through the mask. Sakura shook her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's going on with Sakura and Kakashi? I have to admit I have a soft spot for serious, rise to the occasion, heeds his duty, captain Hatake. I love the idea that he's a drifter in life but very serious about his anbu team and taking care of them. And with Sakura, there's this conflict because he doesn't want to warm up to her but he has to give something because she's his subordinate.
> 
> I also don't really know what I'm going to do with Sakura's brother in this fic! I thought I had an idea for the ending and then ended up scrapping it. He might just be hanging out (and obviously you can tell some timelines are a little AU, since Moegi is here), but bear with me.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this week's chap! Thanks as always for all of the favorites, comments and likes! Let me know if you've been reading anything good recently, or what you think is going to happen next.


	7. If You're Worried

On today's run, the sun was slightly higher in the sky. The weather was warmer, and Sakura felt stronger. If she closed her eyes, only focusing on detecting chakra signatures nearby, she could almost pretend she was back in Fire Country.

Then a light tapping noise caught her attention.

Futaha rolled down the window. She smiled at Sakura.

"I didn't see you last night," she noted with a lilt. When Sakura didn't say anything in response, Futaha continued. "I felt very safe though, being guarded by all of those men."

"I'm glad."

Sakura could feel the woman's dark eyes trained on her.

"Do you feel protected being around them?"

That was a different way of phrasing the question Sakura thought Futaha would ask. She was surprised at the words the woman actually chose.

"I feel protected being around my team, when there are men or when they are women. I feel safe because I know they would fight to keep me safe. Much like how you know we're hired to keep you safe."

Sakura knew she was being more verbose than usual. But something about her felt compelled to tell this woman as much.

Futaha cocked her head and regarded Sakura. "You make it sound like the motives there are different."

Sakura shrugged, "They might be."

The woman gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She sunk back into the carriage but kept her hand rested on the open window. "Money changes everything, ne?"

* * *

Ko was leaning forward, one elbow placed on the table as he slowly moved rice into his mouth.

"Tired from a wild night, Ko?" Tenzo teased, poking the man with his chopsticks.

Ko lifted his dark ringed eyes to narrow slightly at Tenzo.

Kakashi decided to pile on also. Sakura noticed it before he even spoke—there was a tiny spike of chakra from the captain. She snorted, Kakashi must have felt adrenaline going after his subordinate.

"Remember Hyuuga, no sleeping with the clients until after the mission."

Ko sighed and meticulously placed down his chopsticks. Sakura watched, entranced to see what had happen next. Ko rarely rose to the bait, and Kakashi had been more relentless as of late.

"Captain," he said dryly, "I'm a professional. And if it came down to it, I'm sure Miyamizu-san has no preference between you or I."

"Okay, I'm hurt—!" Tenzo clutched a hand over his heart and looked wounded. He winked at Sakura over their heads, making her giggle.

" _Ko-kun_ ," Kakashi's chopsticks darted over to steal a piece of fish from Ko's bowl, plopping it into his mouth noisily. The Hyuuga made an exasperated noise at his captain. Kakashi sucked on the ends of his chopsticks teasingly. "You'd be throwing me to the wolves. A lesser man like me can't possibly handle a woman like Futaha Miyamizu."

Sakura shook her head. "I don't want to hear about you being men, with women and… wolves," she shuddered. "I'm going to sleep. Ko-san, you take last shift."

Kakashi watched her until she left.

* * *

Sakura slipped into Futaha's suite shortly after four in the morning. She rolled her shoulders and was grateful for the thick, tight anbu vest that kept her posture up even in her current exhaustion.

Kakashi shook his head at her as she came in. He was standing stiffly, hands clasped tightly to his sides with his back to most of the room. It looked like he was staring straight ahead at the wall. Sakura gave him a look at his odd location but came fully in.

As soon as Sakura was settled, Kakashi darted out of the room, gone before she could blink. The man was so dramatic.

The bathroom door opened with a soft _click_ and Sakura met Futaha's eyes. The woman scanned her quickly before giving a half-hearted smile. Futaha's eyes were pitch in the dark room, and Sakura thought she was still wearing her makeup.

"You're not the white-eyed friend. I was excited to see him again."

"He's resting."

The woman laid down on the bed, her silken robe riding up on her thigh. She didn't move to cover it, instead just luxuriated and let herself settle with a sigh.

"I can't sleep," she told Sakura. "I have a migraine. Can you cure it?"

Sakura deliberated. Someone must have told Futaha that she was a medic. If she were Ko or Kakashi, the woman undeniably would have already used that line. _Actually, maybe she did use it on one of them, which is how she knows._

On one hand, she didn't like using her healing for things that were trivial. On the other hand, getting Futaha to sleep would be a victory for them both.

Sakura approached the bed and sat down on the edge. Futaha shimmied over at Sakura's beckoning, and with effort, arranged her long black hair around her head appealingly. Satisfied, she fell back down and pulled her shoulders back.

Sakura smiled under her mask at the woman's determination. Futaha was a beautiful woman and every little movement she made was deliberate and appealing, even when it was only her and Sakura in the dark room.

Sakura placed her hands in a cradle around Futaha's face, handling her with delicate fingers. She pulled her chakra from her core to her limbs and closed her eyes as the familiar glow started up again. She used only a minimal amount of chakra, as it was known to make civilians sick at higher doses. It would be slow going, but hopefully effective.

Under her hands, Futaha was staring intently at Sakura. The glow from the kunoichi's hands made it hard to see her in the dark, but there was enough light that Sakura's features were a shadow that she could focus on.

"Ram-san," she called out lightly. Futaha fiddled with her robe's neckline, trailing it lower on her chest. "Tell me about being on this team."

"Are you asking about white-eyed and gray-haired ones?"

A laugh. "No, but tell me about them too. Why do you protect each other? How do you know one another?"

Sakura paused. Her first words came out sounding uncertain. "Some don't agree with this method, but I like thinking of my team as my friends." She thought about what she wanted to tell the wealthy woman.

"We don't know each other—well. But I respect them for their strengths in battle. And as we spend more time together, I learn more things about their person that make us closer to friends."

"And then I'll care about them. And I'd want to protect them."

"Would they always want to protect _you_? In return?"

Futaha seemed seduced by the promise of being a shinobi. Sakura could see it from her appeal, the red lips, dark eyes, seductive manner. Popular conception of nin was full of blood, sex and battles. She supposed she was disappointing, to that trope.

"It's not in return—" She explained, "But I would hope so. But a battle is fast. There are so many things to prioritize. In an ideal world, we save everyone and succeed."

Minutes went by. Sakura knew from her chakra that Futaha was still awake, just silent.

Like on the first day, Sakura felt compelled to say something more. "Miyamizu-san, do you have similar people in your life?"

The black haired, black eyed woman lay still in the bed. She said nothing in response. Sakura finished healing her and slowly eased off of the bed, returning to her watch spot by the door.

* * *

They neared the final leg of the journey. Futaha had it made it a habit now to keep her window rolled down, talking to Sakura about the going ons of her mind as Sakura ran alongside her. The men had noticed the heiress' habit but not said anything about it, certainly not interested in getting closer to the carnivorous woman.

They were driving through a narrow pass in a line of trees. The area was quiet, like all of the other plains they'd passed through, the heavy snow muffling the landscape.

Sakura was about to reply to a quip from Futaha when Kakashi held up his hand. The carriage halted to a stop, Sakura running a few last steps before instantly turning out, her hands held at the ready.

"Miyamizu-san, please close the window."

The horses at the head of the carriage stamped their feet and made piercing noises, the driver shouted for them to calm down. It was difficult to listen for any hostile noises above the chaos and Sakura felt herself quickly darting her sight from tree to tree.

Then it happened. Several kunai came for Sakura's side of the carriage. Sakura knocked two of them out of the air with her own, and Kakashi sent one in their direction, disabling the third. As Ko leapt towards the source of the attack, a blast of snow came from behind one tree, heading straight for Sakura.

Sakura had no shield jutsu for moments like these. Deliberating it for a second in her mind, she ducked to the side as the plume shattered the window of the carriage behind her. Sakura's head whipped back and locked eyes with Futaha. She felt like she could see fear in the woman's usually impassive eyes.

"I'm taking her!" she shouted to her team as she reached in through the broken window and opened the carriage door. She discarded her travel pack.

"Miyamizu-san," Sakura offered her back. Futaha latched on, nearly choking Sakura with a strong grip as she leapt away from the carriage.

Sakura hoped to put distance between them and the attackers, hoping that Kakashi and the others could disable them. Futaha's thick kimono fluttered behind Sakura in the breeze. Sakura quickly unlatched her cloak to win more mobility. She gripped behind Futaha's knees and circled, keeping the other woman firmly attached to her back.

Tenzo approached Sakura's direction, facing outwards as he searched the area.

Kakashi and Ko burst from the tree line. Kakashi held two fingers up then closed his hand in a fist. Two eliminated.

A sound behind Sakura made her startle. She ducked down and leapt several feet to the side. A senbon implanted itself in the snow behind them. Tenzo was making the hand signs for a wood release as a shower of senbon rained down on them. A shield of wood shot up, but a senbon impaled in Sakura's shoulder.

She groaned under her breath. With effort, Sakura wrenched out the thin blade, discarding it in the snow.

They took off. Sakura was vaguely aware that Futaha was screaming as she ran, but she couldn't spare a moment. Sakura's head whipped back constantly, checking behind her to make sure that Kakashi and Ko were pursuing the attackers.

From the direction that they ran in, the snow on the ground started to stir. Sakura watched for only a moment before walking back her steps, but not quickly enough as they were overtaken by a tremendous plume of packed snow that knocked Sakura off her feet.

She rolled into a fall, taking care to keep Futaha the right way up as much as possible. Her body ached from the impact.

The sky around them had turned dark, the snow whirling to become razor sharp pieces of ice that clawed at her bare hands and neck.

"Cover your face!" She commanded. Futaha was sobbing. Sakura could see that her delicate hands were bleeding from the cuts carried on the wind.

Sakura needed to find the source quickly before the pieces of ice found something vital. She focused her chakra and tried to look around the mini storm for a sign of life.

Kakashi, Ko and Tenzo were not in sight. She couldn't find them. She bit down the panic and committed to moving in one direction. They'd break out of this eventually, if she managed to keep up the speed.

She threw chakra to her legs, sprinting as quickly as possible. The drag of Futaha on her back made it harder but Sakura saw a glimmer of bright light from the dim of the storm. They were almost at the edge—

A figure appeared in front of them, materialized from the snow.

Sakura recognized the uniform and mask. A hunter-nin.

She quickly leapt back, analyzing the enemy's appearance and turning the gears in her head at the same time. What did hunter-nin want with an heiress like Futaha? The man pulled out a long, thin katana. He sunk into a battle pose.

Futaha was screaming when he launched towards them. Sakura deftly jumped to the right, throwing her shoulder back as she dodged and pulling it forward in hopes of landing a hit. But her whole bodied was slowed by the extra weight on her back, and the nin was much faster, flashing away before her knuckles could connect.

Sakura's neck tingled as she felt a movement behind her. She whirled on her ankles and brought up a kunai just in time to deflect a parry from the katana. She knocked the sword away before it could slide closer to them.

She knew she was fatiguing quickly. Sakura needed to find someone from the team before it was too late. Digging her heels in to the thick snow, Sakura let out a tremendous spike of chakra that she hoped would help them find her. She was down more than half now—it'd been a gamble.

"Haruno!"

Sakura turned with tremendous relief as she spotted Kakashi speeding towards them. She took off in his direction. He grabbed her elbow as she passed.

"Go—!" He bellowed at her as he engaged the hunter-nin.

Sakura ran in the opposite direction as Tenzo materialized through the thick and dove after Kakashi.

Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she kept one eye on them and the other in front of her. She didn't want to run too far in case she lost sight of them again. The sharp sound of steel told her that Kakashi had pulled out his tanto, and there was a crackling of electricity in the air that made Futaha cry out in fear.

Sakura angled her body so Futaha wouldn't have to watch Kakashi finish off the hunter nin, driving his chidori through the man's stomach.

The thick ice storm around them began to settle. The bone-piercing cold eased up. A hint of sun trickled through the tops of the clouds again. Futaha was still wrapped around her neck, in a hold that was impressively firm and also dangerous. Sakura coughed as she eased the woman down into the snow.

"Miyamizu-san," Ko had appeared next to them. "You have to let Ram-san go."

Futaha screamed at the sudden sight of Ko and Sakura rested a hand on the woman's arms. "It's—the white-eyed friend—" she choked out with difficulty.

Kakashi and Tenzo approached them. Sakura gestured for help. Kakashi bent down and without fanfare, tore Futaha's arms off of Sakura, who rolled onto her side and gasped fat breaths for air.

Sakura rested on her knees and elbows, head bowed in exhaustion.

"Ram-san," Futaha cried for her, draping over Sakura's back. Sakura could feel her quivering.

Sakura tried to turn around so she could hold Futaha but suddenly lost strength. She fell flat on her face, buried in the snow, and lay there as she felt a strong hand hook under her armpits and drag her up to sitting.

Blearily, she saw Kakashi kneeling behind her. Sakura had to lean back on Kakashi's knee to stay upright. Ko had Futaha in a similar hold, who had draped herself around his chest and was sobbing.

Sakura sighed.

She pitched herself forward and crawled to where Futaha was crying. With gentle hands, she unwound the hysterical woman from Ko's stiff posture. Futaha wept even harder at the sight of Sakura, which she couldn't understand, couldn't find the energy to figure out.

Taking Futaha's hands in hers, she quickly healed up the multitude of cuts, and helped pick out pieces of dirt. The heiress whimpered as Sakura administered the treatment.

Sakura took Futaha's arm and rolled up the sleeves, searching for more hurts. She grabbed Futaha's shoulder and looked her over from front to back. "Hurt anywhere else?"

Futaha shook her head. And started crying again once she looked at Sakura. Looking down at herself, the kunoichi realized her hands and wrists were shredded. Touching the back of her neck, the area between her mask and collar, her hand came away sticky and wet with blood. Her shoulder also _hurt_.

Tenzo and Kakashi sported small cuts where they were exposed to the storm, but Sakura and Futaha had spent the longest inside. Ko was thankfully unscathed. The men stood in a circle around them, their body language tightly sprung.

The driver of the carriage emerged from a plough of snow, and stumbled towards them.

"Driver-san, how far are we from the last stop?"

The man was quivering as he fell at Futaha's feet, crying and clutching at his mistress. "Two hours by horse—but they've all run off," he weeped.

"We'll run." The men automatically moved into place. Ko offered his back to Futaha, who latched on. Tenzo picked up the driver man.

Kakashi gave Sakura a hand up. He glanced a question at her and she nodded in affirmation. She was low on chakra from the run and fight. She healed her shoulder, and would save the rest for later.

They took off.

* * *

When the sight of the tremendous villa peeked over the horizon, blocking out the dipping sun behind it, Sakura nearly cried with relief.

Especially after the ambush, Kakashi kept a punishing pace. They kept their formation, Kakashi in front and Tenzo and Ko in the middle with Futaha and the driver.

Sakura, in part due to having nobody to carry, and in part because she was exhausted, rounded out the tail. She had no doubt that she wouldn't have been able to take Futaha this entire distance. She stumbled into the house after the five of them.

Sakura was vaguely aware of another butler, similar to the one who had met them at the original destination. Like the last one, this butler also gave them a similarly disapproving look. His critical gaze felt like it spent the longest on Sakura. She was aware of the sensation of water dripping from her body, a combination of blood and melted snow.

She dragged her eyes from the carpet, now stained, to the butler, to the ceiling. Sakura's knees buckled and she dove into a deep sleep.

* * *

Kakashi got to her first, with nobody on his back. He caught Sakura before she hit the ground. Futaha burst out screaming again, crying for Sakura as she tore herself off Ko's back, to the protests of her butler and driver.

It was chaos all over until the butler led Kakashi to a double bedroom, and the captain managed to set her down on one of the beds. He ordered Ko and Tenzo away, to secure Futaha and the hysterical driver and to get some rest themselves.

To his sharingan, Sakura seemed fine aside from exhaustion and a low grade fever that she must have been running with. He felt an inkling of annoyance, wishing she'd said something earlier. He was free to help if she had just asked for it.

He grabbed a towel off of the rack in the bathroom and wet it with warm water. Kakashi coaxed her mask off. Then undid her vest from the side, unable to get it over her head without irritating the cuts on the back of her neck. To his satisfaction, Sakura seemed to breath a little easier without the thick, constricting garment.

Kakashi wiped away the dried and fresh blood on her face and hands, watching her face for signs of pain as he skirted around the open wounds. Pulling a familiar med kit out of his travel bag, the anbu captain wrapped up her neck and hands. Some of his bandage work was rough, but it would do until she woke up.

* * *

"Captain."

He shot awake at the sound of her voice.

Sakura was sitting up in the other bed, gazing at him calmly. She reacted a little to his expression. He wondered if he looked irritated, or relieved. Ideally, neither.

"Sorry, captain."

She looked a little sheepish, smiling tentatively at him. Her face looked red and flushed, Kakashi thought that if he touched it now, her skin must be hot. Her hair was a little wild, some bits of it tinged in blood.

"Did it look bad?" She cracked a wry smile. She eyed her anbu vest discarded on the floor, stained red.

"You should have just asked me to carry you."

She swung her feet to the floor and set them down, grounding herself with the feeling of the cool wood under her toes. Sakura's head was pounding, and she knew her temperature was too hot. "I thought I could make it here on my own."

He shook his head at her, and watched her move in a falling motion towards the door. He couldn't keep down his annoyance as he snapped, "Where are you going?"

"Checking on Futaha."

"She was _fine_."

Sakura had opened the door and was ambling down the hallway, stumbling like an uncoordinated toddler. Kakashi saw red.

"Come on, captain. If you're worried then escort me to her," Sakura quietly called.

He threw off his blankets with a growl and caught up to her in no time. He grabbed her elbow roughly, and forced her to lean on him. At a crawl, they made their way upstairs and down a hallway that felt too long to Kakashi. At multiple points, he considered just throwing Sakura over his shoulder and hauling her to the suite.

"Futaha-san," Sakura leaned on the door, softly rapping at it with her knuckles.

The door burst open and the dark eyed, dark haired woman burst out with a cry. She grabbed onto Sakura and sobbed into her chest. It was unclear who was holding up who, as the two leaned into each other.

Sakura smoothed a hand clumsily over the woman's long black hair.

"It's alright, we're okay." She nudged them inside, Kakashi following stiffly.

The medic set the other woman on the expansive bed. The sheets were unmade, it was clearly she'd been sleeping when Sakura called. Sitting across from her, Sakura turned Futaha carefully over in her hands, scanning every bit of skin.

"Not hurt, are you?"

"I was so worried about you," the woman cried. She looked abject and deeply upset. Sakura felt sympathy, seeing how shaken the heiress was. It was out of character for a woman who she had read to be cold, focused on men and sometimes socially careless.

"I'm strong, ne?" Sakura crinkled her eyes at her.

"Thank you for protecting me."

Sakura grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. She looked deep into Futaha's dark eyes, "I wanted to."

"Miyamizu-san," Kakashi spoke from where he stood, several meters off. "This was meant to be a regular escort mission, we were told you had no enemies, only to watch out for regular looters and bandits."

Futaha met his accusing gaze.

She looked deeply upset, red lips drawn into a sharp frown. Sakura looked between them.

"My father, he's a member of the governing body in Snow. His position endangers me." Sakura couldn't hide her response at this. "He's also a shinobi too, but he only ever hires others to protect me." Her tone was biting and she looked at Sakura as she talked.

Kakashi let out a deep sigh. Sakura patted Futaha's hands.

They sat and talked for a little while until Sakura started to exhaust. Standing up to leave, with Kakashi holding on to her arm, Sakura heard Futaha call to her.

"Ram-san, I'm sorry for endangering you. I admire the way your team protects each other."

* * *

"You should heal yourself now," Kakashi told her once they got back, closing the door behind them. He watched her shuffle to the bathroom, and in the mirror could see her unwind the gauze.

Sakura hissed at the sting as she pulled the bandages away from the fresh wounds. Tenderly, she prodded at the areas.

"I'm low on chakra," she said.

He appeared in the bathroom doorway. "I can give you mine."

She shook her head slowly, pulling her shirt down to look at the shoulder that had taken the senbon. "It would hurt me. Chakra transfers are really tough on the body and should only be a last resort."

Her eyes landed on him. She stumbled over, placing her hand on his neck. Kakashi felt the itch of the skin reforming as she healed a small scratch. He slapped her hand away, not lightly. She winced.

"Heal yourself first."

Sakura gave him a pointed look but retreated to the other end of the bathroom. She unraveled a fresh roll of gauze. He watched her quietly.

Kakashi's head throbbed at the amount of worry she'd put him through in the last couple of hours. She'd made exactly the right moves, stealing away Futaha and protecting her fully from harm. He could even overlook how she had insisted on running here on her own, only to pass out from exhaustion.

But then Sakura had barely woken up before insisting on seeing that horrible woman, just to console her. And now Sakura was wasting chakra healing his scratches when she should be treating herself.

How did she have so much heart to care about other people? Her priorities were damn crossed. What was Tsunade teaching them over there?

He gritted his teeth.

"We leave tomorrow." The words sounded harsh, even to his ears, as he said them. Sakura was still feverish looking.

Sakura looked up from redressing her hand. She smiled at him. "I might have to take you up on that offer to carry me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a question for all of you, please leave me a comment or a DM: 
> 
> How much fluff do you want to see? Options being (Little) (Enough to get to the next point) (A lot!)
> 
> Being honest with yall, I have one more chapter in the backlog, then a (blank), and then more chapters. Trying to decide how to fill up the blank. I'm also going through a career change right now, so I will be posting next week's chapter and possibly taking a 1-2 month hiatus! I wish I didn't have to, but it will help me bring better chapters to yall once I can focus! Thank you for your patience, and continued support.
> 
> As usual, thank you so much for your kind comments and feedback, kudos and bookmarks. I don't get a chance to reply to each review, but know that I read them all. I appreciate you! 
> 
> \- Maudlim


	8. Believing There's Something Next

They had a lovely last dinner in Futaha's care, though the heiress didn't join them. There was a fine spread of local snow delicacies, mostly seafood, and exquisitely cooked winter vegetables.

Sakura felt like she was devouring all of it in a way that was unseemingly, but couldn't convince herself to stop. The entire team was in a fantastic mood. An escort mission without a hitch was one that left you waiting for the other shoe to drop. An escort mission with just the right amount of trouble left you feeling satisfied.

Earlier, Ko apparently knew enough medical ninjutsu to take care of her worst cuts. She sat with her back facing him and tugged her hair over her shoulder. He knelt behind her and passed his hands over her neck as they made quiet conversation.

Kakashi brooded, nose stuck in a cup of sake as he glared daggers at them, mostly Sakura. Even Tenzo didn't feel like riling up the captain, seeing the bad mood that he was in.

When the food was brought in by the butler, Kakashi slammed his glass down on the table and demanded that they start dinner immediately. When Kakashi glared at Ko, he was surprised to find that the Hyuuga was giving him a look of matching anger.

From where she was seated, Sakura could only see Kakashi. She shook her head at him, for being immature and angry because he was hungry. With a small sigh, she seemed to begrudgingly scoot over to the table. Ko stood up and sat pointedly next to Sakura, white eyes locked on Kakashi.

Futaha had offered them as much sake as they wanted. Delicate in flavor, the drinks were undeniably expensive and tasted divine after the trials in the snow.

Two hours into the night, after many drinks already, Kakashi challenged Ko to a drinking contest. Tenzo protested at being left out, but Kakashi insisted with slurred speech that it was only for the men noticed by Futaha Miyamizu. Tenzo had a nagging feeling that that was not at the heart of this challenge, but when he looked over at Sakura to confirm his hunches, she was too busy doubled over in laughter. Her laughs rang out as the two of them pounded drink after drink across from each other at the table.

Kakashi was hazily aware, in the deep back of his mind, that he kept drinking to destroy Ko and to hear one more cry-laugh from Sakura.

Ko was also distracted by the melodic sound of Sakura's laughs. But between drinks, he regarded his captain with something close to anger. Tonight, there seemed to be something at stake for the two of them.

* * *

It was late in the morning when Sakura stood up from the table. She was terribly full, drunk, and absolutely exhausted. Pressing a light hand to her forehead, she found that she was dehydrated and still nursing a small fever.

The men on her team looked up at her as she stood, and swayed on her feet.

"I think I need to sleep now, don't stay up too late," she reminded with a breathy laugh, looking at each of them with finality.

Ko smiled back and bid her goodnight. Tenzo did the same. But when she landed on Kakashi, he had only a dark look for her that she was too exhausted to return.

"Good night, captain."

Sakura let herself out of the room without giving him another glance. She didn't trust herself to not get upset in front of everyone else. Sakura shook as she slowly dragged herself up the stairs. Her hands hurt from the cuts and her body felt sluggish from the fever.

Her eyes stung from anger.

Sakura had tried so hard to extend an olive branch to her captain. After the issue at the bar, she'd noticed him thawing. In fact they'd even had a few conversations that she would consider _fun_ or _genuine_. But from the moment she'd woken up today, he'd been nothing but short with her.

And Sakura was _exhausted_.

* * *

The three men remaining at the table went silent. Ko sent his drink down on the table quietly.

It had been impossible to miss the energy Sakura exuded as she left the room. Her light mood had been shattered instantly when she looked at Kakashi. When Ko and Tenzo turned to their captain's face to see what she'd reacted to, each felt like they saw something different.

Tenzo saw Kakashi angry at how drunk or tired Sakura was. Ko saw Kakashi worried and angry as a result of it.

But they all saw Sakura's happy smile fall into a frown as she turned her head away. The sliding door slammed behind her.

Ko pursed his lips. "Captain," he started.

Kakashi dropped his glass on the table, shooting to his feet.

"You win, Ko." He murmured under his breath as he followed after Sakura.

* * *

Footsteps up the stairs told her she was being followed. She trudged forward without turning back. A familiar hand reached her elbow.

"Haruno."

She tried shaking him off. She was too angry to look at him.

"Haruno, I'll help you back to the room."

"And then what?" Sakura gritted out.

He removed his hand. "What?"

Sakura had made it off the stairs, her head pounded and felt hot as she moved down the hallway. At moments, her eyesight felt like it wasn't catching up to her brain.

Still, she had the mind to respond to Kakashi. "—Then you're going to yell at me some more?"

Her hand skirted around the doorframe as she let herself into their room. She fell into her bed, and feebly tugged the blankets up to her chin.

Kakashi stood quietly in the entrance. Sakura could see his hair from where she lay, although nothing else. She closed her eyes. Her head was throbbing.

Finally, she heard the door close. She jolted when she felt a cold hand on her hot forehead.

Kakashi got up and she heard the faucet turn on, the sound of a cup filling. He came back and set the cup on the table with a soft _click_ , and eased a cold towel onto her forehead.

 _She was burning._ He wished she didn't have so much to drink at dinner. It'd been a stressful mission but she couldn't break herself right at the end of it.

"Captain."

Her voice came out clear even as her eyes were shut tightly, eyebrows scrunched in discomfort.

"You can't keep treating me this way. I'm either good enough for this team or I'm not. And if I'm not, let's find you someone who is."

Sakura heard him sigh. Cold fingers wrapped around her bandaged wrist briefly before leaving. She heard him sit down on the other bed before she gave in to sleep.

* * *

Kakashi drew his knees up to his chest on the opposite bed. He watched Sakura sleep.

Her breath made her chest rise and fall, her pink hair rustling with the movement. The slim column of her neck was still fully covered with gauze. There was a deep flush across her face from the fever, a hint of shine from sweat. Her pinks lips were parted. Her lashes fluttered with a hint of a dream.

He didn't even know what was going on with himself—how could he explain it to her. Kakashi had been satisfied living his life. He'd been _upset_ when Rin left, but he assumed he was keeping it together well. The team was fine without a medic, he thought they could continue until Rin eventually returned.

The day Tsunade mentioned Sakura Haruno's name was the day trouble began for him. Kakashi had no idea then that he was adopting into his fold one of the most talented medics in the world, and also an incredibly kunoichi who was deeply caring.

At their core, they shared the same philosophy. Kakashi cared more about his teammates than life itself. Sakura apparently felt the same, even willing to go to great lengths for a deeply unpleasant woman like Futaha.

But it was precisely this belief that made it hard to Kakashi to treat her like a normal damn person. He'd been doggedly loyal to Rin for years upon years. She was the one who had left him, but there was no silencing the gnawing feeling of guilt in his chest when he saw Sakura.

It was on so many levels too.

Rin had been his medic since he was a genin. Sakura was the new medic now, and did things differently.

Rin had been one of a few friends with access to his innermost person, but she left. And Sakura had swept in and shown him her entire hand of cards, and more. Sakura's clear, unabashed desire for friendship and true relationships with her team was so foreign to him. It scared him to the core.

Rin had pined after him for years, and part of him had suspected that he felt the same for her. But it took him too long to come around. She'd left.

Kakashi had no idea how Sakura felt about him—other than that he was a cruel captain who mistreated her. But he couldn't deny that she was beautiful, and Genma had put such a desirable idea into his mind that he had trouble shaking it out.

The same way that Sakura was open with her emotions made it hard for him to be. Talking to someone like her, seeing the hope and friendship in her eyes, felt like rubbing salt in an open wound. This wound, from the death of Obito and Minato and all of his other friends, had been open for over a decade now.

As his friend, medic, more, Rin had helped clean the wound and stopped it from killing him. But all of the memories with her, knowing how Obito felt about her, kept that wound open and raw. Just having Rin around was a reminder of the past.

Kakashi was a glutton for punishment.

He threw his hands through his hair. When Sakura first joined the team, he would have given anything to trade her for Rin. _What made one medic return to Konoha, and another decide to leave?_

Now he wasn't so sure. Sakura was a stunning presence. She stole his breath every time she laughed, and drove him fucking insane when she flirted with Ko. The way he could see right through her and know what she was thinking made him feel _good._ Hopeful, too.

He wanted to believe that there was something next, not just something that used to be.

Kakashi replaced the towel on her forehead. He gently wiped the sweat from her face.

He sat on the bed and watched her until the sun had come up.

* * *

When Sakura woke, she felt something between anger and embarrassment. The memories of last night came rushing back like a cruel nightmare. This was twice now. She twisted her lips in displeasure and squeezed her eyes.

"Why are you crying, Haruno?"

Her eyes shot open. Kakashi was looking right at her.

"I'm not," she croaked.

"Don't believe you." Kakashi stood to grab the towel off of her forehead, and wrung it out in the bathroom before coming back.

He knelt in front of her and carefully felt her forehead. Then he wiped her face before placing the towel back where it was.

The proximity and intimacy of it all made Sakura dizzy. Her throat was parched, her head still hurt, and Kakashi smelled something like wood and trees and his eyes were focused so intensely on her.

"Captain… I need time to myself." She whispered.

Every nerve in his body wanted to stay kneeling in front of her. She looked beautiful with her hair splayed around her on the pillow. He wanted to talk to her. He forced himself to stand.

"I've been doing this all night, but I guess it's time for the real medic to take over," he said with a small smile. Kakashi nudged the water on the bedside table closer to her before grabbing a change of clothes and leaving the room.

Sakura stared at the spot where he had been, just inches from her face.

* * *

Futaha had breakfast with them that morning. In order to eat, they all had their masks off, and the heiress was happily ogling between Ko and Kakashi, who were both blushing.

Sakura found Futaha's gaze a few times too. At this point, Futaha was deeply attached to her new friend. She had insisted on sitting next to Sakura, and spent much of breakfast spooning food into her bowl.

Sakura had trouble looking at Kakashi during the meal. He seemed to be in a brighter mood than usual, despite looking more tired, with dark circles under his eyes and particularly unruly hair. Kakashi kept up the conversation, even asking Futaha a few questions about herself.

Sakura also couldn't get herself to look at Ko. She could feel his gaze on her face at various points during the meal. She wondered if it was judgement he looked at her with, or curiosity, or betrayal. The Hyuuga had made his feelings more than clear, but Sakura kept getting into arguments with his captain. Did that put him in a bad place?

The only safe places for Sakura to put her eyes were reliable Tenzo, sultry Futaha, and the delicious spread in front of them.

* * *

They gathered outside the villa when it was time to leave. Their packs sat on the ground as they went through the necessary goodbyes.

Mostly, it was Futaha fawning over Sakura. The heiress hugged her multiple times, making her promise to write.

"But you don't know my name," Sakura stated simply. "And this isn't how I look."

Futaha smiled knowingly. "Silver-hair friend shouted your name in the middle of the storm."

Sakura stiffened a little. She felt Kakashi's eyes on the back of her head but didn't turn around. Futaha leaned in for one more hug, clutching Sakura to her close and kissing her on the cheek.

The heiress moved on to hugging all of the men, starting with Kakashi. Tenzo was next, who blushed a deep crimson at the unusual amount of attention he was receiving.

Sakura leaned against the wall, watching the scene fondly. It was clear that Futaha would miss them, even if it was for varying reasons. Sakura almost didn't notice Kakashi, who had also positioned himself against the wall, a few feet away.

"How are you feeling?" He softly asked, eyes trained forward.

"Tired."

"Maybe you should take it easy," Kakashi didn't expect her to answer, but waited a perfunctory amount of time before continuing.

"I'm sure Ko or Tenzo would be happy to carry you too. My offer stands too, of course."

Sakura finally turned to look at him. Kakashi looked peaceful as he watched the scene in front of them. There was no bite, scorn or irritation in his expression. Sakura felt confused.

She swept through a check of her vitals. While she'd healed up all of the remaining cuts this morning, her fever still hadn't broken. She felt tired on her feet already.

Futaha was clutching onto Ko, much like when they first escaped from the battle. She looked deeply into his, admittedly beautiful, eyes. Sakura couldn't hurt her Futaha's feelings by asking for a piggyback ride from one of her favorites. She beckoned Tenzo over.

"Tenzo, could you give me a ride today? My fever, it's still—"

Tenzo looked surprised but agreed before Sakura could even finish. She didn't miss the way that he looked over at Kakashi, reading his face for a reaction.

"I'll take your bags," Kakashi offered, and picked up Sakura's without waiting for a reply. He led the way off of the porch as Sakura ambled onto Tenzo's back and latched her arms around his neck. Ko peeled Futaha off, and picked up his own pack to follow.

As Sakura turned her head to wave goodbye to Futaha, who was beaming at her from the villa, she couldn't help but catch Ko's gaze too. The Hyuuga had an expression that was a little bit hurt, inquisitive and confused. She tore her gaze away and rested her head on Tenzo's shoulder.

* * *

Sakura only woke again when they stopped for the night. Tenzo had settled her onto a soft futon without waking her, but it was the sensation of a cold towel on her forehead that finally did.

Sakura's vision was bleary as she took in her new surroundings, yawning. She stretched her muscles under the heavy blanket that someone had drawn over her. This room was humble compared to the ones Futaha had rented for them. Mostly wood, and there was another futon a couple feet away. Then, Kakashi.

He was squatting near her feet, nose buried in a small book that wrapped in a homemade paper book cover. On the front of the book cover, he had scrawled his name in pen.

_KAKASHI HATAKE._

Even in her anger with him, Sakura couldn't help but laugh at this unusual tic. _Avid reader,_ she bookmarked for later.

He instantly reacted to the sound, and quickly stuffed his book away in his vest. He shuffled closer to her, still in a squat, and watched her expectantly.

"What were you reading?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

He looked torn, "I can't tell you."

Sakura gave him an odd look. She reached up to feel at the cool towel, mussing it into her forehead. The sensation was soothing and eased her headache.

"Did you really do this all night?" She asked, remembering what he had said that morning.

Kakashi nodded. Sakura held his gaze, surprised that he wasn't turning away or looking scornful. He didn't look remorseful either, which Sakura was glad for. She had a habit of forgiving people at the slightest sign of upset and she didn't want to let go of this—yet.

"Hatake-san," she rasped. "I really can't keep doing this."

Kakashi stiffened. She wasn't calling him 'captain'. His eyes got darker as he leaned in a little closer. "Doing what?"

She adjusted, wincing at the ache in her body. When she was settled again, she spoke. Her voice stayed at a whisper, unable to muster anything louder. "Feeling like I've done something wrong."

Something akin to relief washed through his body, so strong that he almost fell back ont his heels. His mind turned as he thought about what he could say to that.

Seeing as he wasn't talking, Sakura continued. "You need to tell me what I'm doing that bothers you. I can't read your mind."

"Haruno," he cleared his throat softly. "I was bothering myself."

Sakura's head pulsed. At a certain point, she was going to run out of patience for these creatively vague explanations. She waited for him to continue.

"I would apologize but you've heard too many of those from me." Kakashi's eyes darted around the floor before finally finding hers again. His brow was furrowed, lips drawn down in one corner. It was the most _upset_ , but not angry, that she had ever seen him.

Sakura couldn't understand why.

He opened and closed his mouth several times. "I'd like to get to know you better."

* * *

Kakashi trailed her down the stairs to dinner, keeping close steps behind Sakura as she maneuvered down the stairs.

When Sakura entered the dining room, Tenzo and Ko swiveled with broad smiles to greet her. It has hard to miss how excited they were to see her. Tenzo, with some foresight, scooted over to let Sakura sit next to him.

Kakashi and Ko were shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the table.

Sakura could feel both of their eyes on her face. Their expressions, full of different emotions, made her feel pinned on the spot. She couldn't hold down her flush. Sakura really didn't want this attention, right now, from the both of them.

She still felt confused about her opinion of Kakashi, and what to do next. Her head hurt when she thought about trying to be open with him and possibly getting snapped at, again.

Then there was Ko. Ko was unerringly kind to her, had always been. She knew it was in part because he saw something more than just friendship with her. His care and attention, hot like a bright sun, was something she didn't have the energy to address right now. She knew he felt confused by how quiet she had been, and how she had picked Tenzo to help her.

Sakura felt stuck between two great forces of hot and cold. She shook her head into her rice and kept her eyes down.

"Kakashi," Tenzo groaned. "No more missions to Snow in winter, alright?"

The captain snorted and threw a bite into his mouth. "There aren't exactly a ton of missions right now."

Tenzo shook his head roughly, "Peacetime is bad for our profession."

This got Sakura to laugh under her breath. Tenzo heard her laugh and grinned at her.

"Sakura-san, what was it like traveling with Tsunade and Shizune?"

She chewed on her chopsticks in thought, humming. She spoke quietly.

"It was… tough. I was really homesick at first. I met Tsunade because she was the one treating treating my teammate Yosuke. After he died, she agreed to take me in. But she was tough to crack, I couldn't understand the harsh ways she'd show her feelings."

Sakura stared at Kakashi's bowl as she said this. A nagging feeling told her this was a similar situation.

Ko quietly admitted. "Tsunade-sama is scary."

Sakura laughed hard at this. Even Kakashi couldn't help the smile that crept up his face.

"She's a character. But she and Shizune became like my family. When I was gone, I especially missed my brother, Kyuta, here at home."

"I felt terrible for leaving, he was only fifteen then. But I wanted to train under Tsunade so I could take better care of him, and everyone on my teams." Sakura finished with a blush, smiling at her teammates.

"People have all kinds of reasons for leaving home," Kakashi contributed. He held her gaze.

* * *

When she made to retire for the night, Kakashi followed her. The man had no sense of personal space as he tailed her up the stairs and into the room. Apparently, he had also decided that they would stay in the same room.

When they were both inside, the stood apart, regarding each other. Sakura looked wary. Kakashi kept outwardly calm, even neutral. But in his chest, his heart pounded loudly. Kakashi was something fiercely avoidant when it came to conversations like these.

"Why are you following me?"

An old interrogation technique that Ibiki taught him told him to keep his mouth shut when he didn't want to reveal something critical.

"Is it because you're worried about me?"

He gave a curt nod.

She sighed and fell onto her futon. Kakashi paralleled her exact posture on the opposite one. He didn't wear his hitai-ate to dinner. She wondered if he used his sharingan to mimic her movements.

"We're going to try to be friendly?"

Another nod.

"Tell me something about yourself."

His mouth felt dry, his tongue was sandpaper. He would have had more to drink at dinner if he knew they were going to have to talk. He should have seen this coming—he cursed himself for being a shit strategist. "I like to read," he croaked.

She broke out into a small grin. His shoulders relaxed at the sight of it. "Cute book cover, you'll have to teach me how you made it sometime."

"Sure, if you bring me a book."

"What's your favorite thing about yourself?"

Kakashi stared at her for a long time. He looked everywhere on her face, but never away. His hand is fisted tightly in the duvet.

He gave a small, firm shake of his head.

"Favorite thing in other people then?"

This time he opened his mouth more willingly. He heard an echo of Minato as he spoke. "When they care about other people."

He didn't miss the way her eyes opened wider, letting in more light to her bright green irises. She looked at him with an inscrutable expression.

"What's yours?"

"The same."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very cerebral chapter this time. What do you think about Kakashi's weighing of Rin versus Sakura? Really curious to get your thoughts on this!
> 
> This is the last chapter before my hiatus! I'll be back with the next chapters in something from a month to two months from now. Thanks so much for all of your feedback, love and attention to this story so far! You know I read every review and it brings me joy to see every new bookmark and kudo.
> 
> The question I had last chapter about fluff still stands. I'm excited to share with you what I have next. See you after the jump!
> 
> ***NEXT CHAPTER IN MID-NOVEMBER***


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